The Iscariot Salvation
by Acherons-Phoenix
Summary: When a simple Innocence recovery mission introduces Lavi and Allen to two unusual characters, the last thing they expected to occur was the arrival of a new side to the war. Now the Black Order is forced to fight against a new group, the Argentum Organisation. But the Argentum Organisation has more than just one side in their sights. And just what are the Iscariots! (NO PAIRINGS!)
1. Chapter 1

**So~! Quick Disclaimer... I don't own any of the man Characters or concepts from Man!~  
>also just to clarify, the information on Judas and the Iscariot 30 pieces of Silver that I write in this isn't indicative of the actual story, I don't actually know the story properly aside from probably the betrayal and the payment (my knowledge came from Wiki just so you know haha), please don't berate me for it. **

**This story is probably going to stay at moderate (T?) rating but if it needs changing just let me know as it will be getting a bit darker as it goes on. (i may just make it M just to be safe) **

**This isn't technically a pairing fanfic... but this is subject to change though that is unlikely unless it actually has significance to the story line... there is an O.C. BL pairing, just to warn you, but it's very minor and will only be mentioned in short.**

**ALSO~! Sorry for any OOC-ness for the man Characters, i'll be trying to make them as accurate as possible, but i don't guarantee that it will always be so... So sorry in advance for the OOC-ness. **

_"Do you know what the significance of the thirty pieces of silver is, my son?" A weathered man asked the young boy beside him. The boy shook his head softly, looking up to his father. _

_"When Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus he was paid in 30 silver pieces by the priests of Sanhedrin. His betrayal sent into motion an event that would then bring about the humans salvation." The man explained, the boy by his side nodding softly in understanding. "They will be our salvation, just like Judas was all those many years ago, the 30 silver pieces that Judas was paid for his betrayal, they will end all the bad things in this world created by the one who calls himself God." the man continued, smiling softly to his son though the boy didn't understand the significance of what the man had said. One day, as he became older, the meanings behind his father's words would become known. _

"Ow… owowowowowowowow"

"Stop complaining, this was your own stupid fault" A tall, slightly tanned male growled softly, as he bound the wounds on the one who was currently complaining, seated in front of him in the small front room of the house they lived in with various twigs in his hair and scratches on his face and arms.

"But Eneaaaaaaa" He whined squirming again as Enea wiped the blood from his face before wiping over it with a diluted mixture of clear alcohol.

"Shut it Merrick" Enea stated bluntly, and the other closed his mouth quickly, making soft whining sounds as the alcohol stung the open skin. When Enea finally finished patching up the deeper wounds and leaving the smaller ones open Merrick scooted as far away from Enea as he could.

"You suck" Merrick mumbled staring unhappily at Enea who merely ignored it, putting away the objects in the room.

"Your fault for climbing so carelessly. You're lucky you didn't break anything" Enea said, looking over to the other who merely pouted at him. Enea rolled his eyes and further ignored the other walking over to the table situated at the back of the room bringing out a piece of paper and a pen. For a moment there was silence between them, the only sound was the writing of pen on paper, soon however two arms snaked around his neck clasping together in front of him, revealing the tattoo of a crescent moon on his wrist. Enea sighed, placing down his pen before looking up to Merrick who grinned down at him.

"What?" He asked softly, frowning at the other, Merrick's long and rather unkempt dark hair falling partially over Enea's face.

"What are you doing?" Merrick asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Working"

"On?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned about" Enea sighed, removing Merrick's arms from around him, he could almost feel the other pouting again at him.

"You always say that. Why don't you let me know what you're doing when you're working" Merrick grumbled, the sound of him walking and almost collapsing on the old lounge the only clue that he left. Enea spun around to look at him, Merrick was sprawled out across the couch, staring up at the ceiling and looking rather bored.

"Because you won't understand it anyway" Enea sighed, Merrick sighing loudly.

"Then teach me" Merrick stated, sitting up and looking to Enea seriously. Enea was about to reply when a sound or something else caught Merrick's attention, the smaller other turning to look towards outside quickly.

"Merrick?" Enea questioned carefully, but the other didn't seem to hear him, staring rather blankly at the window, or rather at something beyond it.

"The Ghost is here again, I doubt Baldr will be pleased" Merrick stated softly, humming before stating that he was going to go find Baldr. Enea was only able to issue a quick, be careful before he disappeared, leaving Enea alone to work on what he had been previously.

It was late afternoon when Merrick returned, however he wasn't alone, and Enea looked to the new comers carefully. There were two of them, one with bright red hair the other with white. The white haired boy was unconscious, being carried by both Merrick and the red haired boy.

"Enea! They need help!" Merrick said as they entered the house, placing the white haired boy on the lounge carefully.

"What happened?" Enea asked sighing as he stood and grabbed the first aid set he had used to clean up Merrick's earlier wounds and bringing it over to the group, even he could tell the white haired boy was wounded.

"We were attacked by a few demons, and Allen was knocked unconscious, your friend here appeared not too long after the fight had finished and wondered if we needed help." The red head explained softly, passing a sympathetic smile towards Enea. "I'm sorry about the intrusion, it's just…"

"It's fine" Enea cut him off, handing over the first aid kit before turning to Merrick. "Why don't you go make some soup for dinner Merrick?" Enea asked, the boy nodding softly and walking towards the kitchen, busying himself with preparing food for themselves and the new comers. Once he had done that he returned to the lounge room, sitting and watching as Enea and the red head, who had introduced himself as Lavi tended to the wounds of Lavi's companion.

"Where are you from?" Merrick asked suddenly, seated on the chair that was beside the desk, draped over the back of it with his chin rested on the top of it.

"Where? Well I guess the Black Order, though that probably doesn't answer the question very well" Lavi replied, rubbing the back of his neck slightly as they finished tending to the white haired boy and Enea stepping into the kitchen to check how the soup that Merrick had prepared was going.

"Black Order?" Merrick tilted his head softly, he had never heard of a place like that before. Enea watched the interaction carefully from the corner of his eye, Merrick was generally a curious person, but sometimes his curiosity got the better of him.

"Yeah, it's sort of an organisation for Exorcists, both Allen and I are Exorcists" Lavi explained.

"Exorcists? What do Exorcists do?"

"We destroy Akuma and stop the Earl and his Noah family from trying to destroy humanity, basically"

"Oh." Merrick sighed, "Why do the Noah want to destroy humanity?" he continued. There was a long moment of silence as Lavi thought about the question, though he had thought about it a lot, he hadn't really come up with a clear answer for it. However before he could answer Enea stepped in, bowl in hand and pushing it in front of Merrick's nose, distracting him and the red head.

"That's enough Merrick." He stated softly. "Would you like some Lavi? There's plenty" Enea offered as he walked back to the small kitchen.

"Ah, sure, thank you." Lavi replied, Enea nodded, bringing out one of the few spare bowls that they had and filled it with the soup before handing it to Lavi and pouring his own. Allen was still currently asleep.

They ate in silence the world turning dark outside as they did. In the distance wolves could be heard calling to each other as they hunted. The night passed slowly, Merrick no longer questioning the red headed exorcist and instead retreating to his room, while Enea remained, writing a few things before turning to have a small conversation with Lavi. The conversation wasn't much, Lavi asking more about whether there was anything strange happening in the village that seemed out of the ordinary. Enea hadn't been able to answer very much, despite leaving the house for work and to get food he very rarely took much notice of what happened in the town itself, both he and Merrick generally remaining as outsiders.

Eventually the two decided to retire for the night, Enea retrieving blankets and pillows for the two Exorcists (stating that he was sorry that the red head had to sleep on the floor) before heading into his own room, finding Merrick already asleep on his own bed. He sighed, wondering how long the other had been asleep for but not dwelling too much on it, lying down and falling asleep almost instantly himself.

He awoke with the sun in his face, Enea growling softly as he turned over to glare at the sun that came through the open window. Merrick seemed un-fazed by it, still quite asleep and curled into a half ball on the centre of his bed. Sighing Enea left the comfort of his bed and walked out of the room as quietly as he could, unsure if the two Exorcists were awake or not. As he entered the small sitting room however he was thankful that both were awake, talking quietly amongst themselves as Enea entered the room, Lavi the first to notice him.

"Morning" He said softly, smiling as Enea walked over.

"Morning, sleep well?" He asked more out of common courtesy than anything else, the two Exorcists nodded softly.

"Yeah, as much as one can." Came the reply and Enea nodded walking over to open a few of the windows to let in some fresh air. He had just opened the last window when Merrick entered the room, hair in a mess across his face and looking far from awake.

"Morning Merrick" Enea said simply, catching something akin to a good morning back as Merrick made his way to the lounge, sitting with a thump on the end opposite to where the white haired Exorcist was sitting and draping himself across the arm of the lounge. Silence fell in the room as neither was too sure what to say, or even if it was a good idea to speak, Merrick looking as though he had merely fallen back asleep. Enea organising whatever food he could think up from what they had for the group, working quietly in the kitchen.

"Why is it still here?" Merrick asked suddenly, though he wasn't looking towards the Exorcists, rather at something outside the window.

"What?" Enea asked, looking up and frowning, both Lavi and Allen also looked to Merrick, a little confused as to what the other meant. Merrick didn't reply to Enea's question, instead pointing outside to where he was looking. Enea sighed softly, walking over and followed Merrick's gaze to a point in the trees, Lavi and Allen seemed to do the same thing though were unable to see anything.

"I don't see anything" Allen sighed, giving up, Enea also gave up, sighing and returning to organising breakfast, Allen walking over and joining him. Both Lavi and Merrick remained watching the tree line until Lavi caught something moving, a large, shadowed form just beyond the tree line. Merrick frowned at it.

"I thought Baldr chased it away" He stated, before turning away from the window and over to Enea who had finished making breakfast and was serving it out on four separate plates. "Do you think they'll catch it this time?" Merrick asked.

"Possibly, though I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about Merrick" Enea replied, handing the smaller boy his plate after handing Lavi and Allen their plates, Merrick eyed the food curiously before he began eating.

"The ghost, it lives in the forest over there, Baldr doesn't like it, he seems to think it carries a bad smell or something, I was trying to find it yesterday but it ran off before I could catch it" Merrick explained in between mouth full's. "I thought it had gone entirely but it seems to be back" he hummed, enjoying the food that Enea had given him, though really it was just bread toasted on the kitchen fire and covered in a small amount of meat from the day before.

"Baldr?" Allen asked, curious of the name.

"Uhuh, he's my friend, he lives in the woods not too far from here" Merrick grinned

"This ghost, do you know when it appeared?" Lavi asked, Merrick shaking his head softly.

"No, but I could ask Baldr! He'd know, he's been here longer than Enea and I" Merrick stated "Why do you want to know about the ghost?" Merrick asked suddenly, tilting his head softly.

"Well I'm just curious, there were reports of unusual sightings in the area along with a lot of Akuma, the finders seemed to think that there was indeed Innocence in the area and so we were sent to look for it" Lavi explained.

"Innocence?"

"Yeah, it's a substance that allows us to fight against the Noah and Akuma, the Noah want to destroy it, and we're trying to make sure they don't"

"Oh" Merrick hummed, turning briefly to look outside again, though the ghost was gone now.

Once the group had eaten Allen and Lavi readied themselves to head back out, they had to meet up with the Finder who they had been disconnected from when they fought the Akuma the day before, before they could start looking for the Innocence again. They left with a short goodbye heading into town, leaving both Enea and Merrick alone again.

"Why did you tell them about Baldr" Enea asked when the door had been closed, he looked to the brunette, Merrick looking up at him with miss-matched eyes.

"Well because Baldr would know where the ghost is, he's the one who told me about it" Merrick stated simply.

"Yes, but they don't know that Baldr is a wolf, and I highly doubt they can talk to him either"

"Oh…"

"Yes… Oh… Merrick, I know it can be hard sometimes, and I know you wanted to help them, but you have to be careful with these things, no one must know about our abilities, we can't risk being noticed. Until we know we're safe we have to lie low alright. The Exorcists will most likely not be coming back, so, so long as we keep to ourselves we'll be fine" Enea sighed.

"Ok…" Merrick pouted, "But they will always be there, wherever we go, they'll find us" Merrick whispered, lying on the lounge and staring at the floor.

"I know, and I will do everything in my power to make sure they don't take you away" Enea whispered back, though he wasn't sure if Merrick heard him or not, the other making no reply.

**So~ that's the end of Chapter 1~~ hope you guys actually like it ^-^  
>Reviews are lovely~ ^-^<br>And don't worry, Lavi and Allen and the rest of the Order will be all making many more appearances throughout the story~ (and the Noah too, can't forget them... o3o)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter~ so this chapter is a little darker and features a few more new OC characters~! Woo! You guys also get an idea of who Merrick and Enea are trying to avoid!**

Chapter 2

It hadn't taken them long to locate the Finder and letting him know that they were both safe they headed back out again, this time searching around the area where Merrick had mentioned seeing the ghost. The reports hadn't mentioned ghosts, but rather things disappearing from the edge of the town, including people. However that didn't cancel out the idea of the ghost that Merrick had stated was present, and so they went in search of it. Lavi and Allen had spent most of the day looking for the Innocence that was reported to be in the area. So far they had come up with nothing, not even Akuma activity, there was however the continual sense of something following them, but when they turned they found nothing.

"Perhaps we should see if Merrick could introduce us to that Baldr person he mentioned" Lavi sighed, looking up to the canopies of the forest before turning to Allen who was walking around a few stray roots.

"Yeah, I can't seem to find anything, no ghost or even any sign of one. Are you sure there really was something here?"

"Pretty sure, I mean Merrick saw it, and I saw something move as well when we were looking so there has to be something here" Lavi explained, looking around again, something caught his eye and he turned towards it, a rustling in the trees nearby.

"What was that?" he heard Allen ask, but didn't answer, walking slowly over towards the place where the bushes had moved. He was no further than two feet away from it when something jumped out from them, making Lavi fall back onto the ground in surprise. Out of the shadows came a rather, unnaturally large wolf, its fur pitch black and eyes hazel. It looked over Lavi carefully, growling softly, though making no advance past revealing itself from the shadows. Lavi stared at it in fear, moving back a bit and watching the creature carefully as he stood to remove his weapon from its place on his leg, activating it and readying it in front of him in case the wolf decided to attack. Allen shifted behind him, noticing that the wolf wasn't alone and that four other wolves emerging from the trees around them.

"Uh, Lavi, should there be wolves in this area?" Allen asked, stepping slowly towards Lavi as he did, watching the wolves cautiously.

"Not exactly sure." Lavi admitted

"They're watching us, should we make a run for it, or wait till they leave?"

"I don't think they're going to be leaving any time soon" Lavi replied back, eyes turning back to the largest wolf who was now sitting not three feet away from him, hazel eyes watching Lavi with interest. The wolf made a noise, something akin to a bark but not quite, and the wolves that had gathered edged closer.

"Lavi, now might be a good idea to use Ozuchi to get us out of here" Allen responded, Lavi nodding softly and spinning ozuchi so that the hammer was resting on the ground, he was about to grab Allen and order the hammer to extend when something flashed from behind them, knocking into both Allen and Lavi and knocking them into the ground in front of the wolf. Lavi groaned and spun around quickly, the four wolves accompanying the large black one had all disappeared, however the larger wolf remained, standing just above where Lavi was on the ground and growling deeply at something just in the tree line. Lavi looked carefully and sure enough he could make out the form of a human like creature, or at least what he thought was human like, its form was distorted into something akin to a wolf, but not quite.

"Crap, Akuma" he heard Allen state, his cursed eye activating in front of him as the Akuma slowly advanced into the clearing they were all in. The wolf lowered, shifting so that he was beside Lavi, growling deeply, the fur standing up on its back, ready to attack. Lavi almost called out for it to wait to it but it was already launching onto the Akuma and tearing into its neck, causing the demonic creature to howl out in pain, its arms reaching to try and tear the creature away from attacking it. All Lavi and Allen could do was watch in amazement as the wolf managed to tear a fair bit of the animal to pieces before being thrown off into a nearby tree.

"We need to help it, I don't know what it's thinking, but with the Akuma distracted we have the upper hand" Allen, standing quickly and activating his Innocence, attacking it with Crown Clown, aiming for the part where the wolf had attacked it. Lavi fully activating his own weapon and aiding Allen in the attack. However the Akuma was stronger than expected and as the Akuma managed to push back Allen the Wolf again attacked it, attacking from behind, its large jaws clasping around the entire neck of the creature and tearing it from the body, finally killing the weakened Akuma.

For a long moment nothing was said, the Wolf was now lying where the Akuma's ashes were, breathing slowly, its eyes closed as it rested from the fight. Lavi and Allen watched it carefully they weren't sure if the wolf itself had Innocence or how it was exactly able to attack and destroy the Akuma. Lavi slowly walked over to the creature, but stopped short when it growled softly at them, he frowned, wondering if the creature if it was hurt from its fight. The sound of yelling in the distance caught Lavi's attention and he looked up to see Merrick running towards them, followed by Enea. The moment Merrick noticed the wolf his eyes went wide and he ran over to them quickly, landing with a skid beside the wolf.

"Baldr! Are you alright!" Merrick exclaimed, stunning both Allen and Lavi, so this was who Merrick had mentioned. The Wolf didn't seem at all concerned about Merricks presence, instead lifting up its head and licking the boy's face in greeting, Merrick laughing softly as he patted the wolves fur.

"What happened?" Enea asked, calling Lavi's and Allen's attention away from Merrick and Bladr and to the taller other, Lavi noting the rather tense look he had as Merrick interacted with the wolf, though he showed no signs of being frightened by the wolf, he was definitely frightened of something.

"There was an Akuma attack, the wolf was the one who fought it off and managed to destroy it, though we're not sure how" Lavi explained, Enea humming and turning to Merrick who was currently wrapped around the Wolf's neck softly, head propped up on its head between its ears. Miss-matched eyes sparkling as brightly as the wolf's hazel ones.

"Baldr says that he destroyed the ghost that was taking the people from the village" Merrick stated "He wanted to say thankyou for helping him too, he thought you were one of them at first, but when you attacked it he realised that you weren't" he continued, shifting so that he was a little more comfortable, Baldr reached back to nudge him slightly but didn't move too much sighing deeply.

"You can speak to it?" Allen asked, Enea shifting uncomfortably behind him, he looked to Merrick who seemed to catch his warning glare.

"No, but he talks to me, he could talk to you if he wanted, but he doesn't know you" Merrick replied, quiet falling between the group.

"Merrick we should go" Enea stated suddenly, turning and starting his way back.

"But what about Baldr?" Merrick asked, sitting up slightly but not moving from the wolf.

"He can come if he wants, or he can remain here, up to him, but we need to go, now" Enea stated, and Merrick pouted softly, standing up after pressing a soft kiss to Baldr's head, the wolf standing up itself but struggling slightly from the strain on its body from the previous fight.

"Going? Where are you two going?" Lavi asked curiously, stopping Enea in his tracks allowing Merrick to catch up with him.

"We've stayed too long in one place, we have to go. It was nice meeting you Exorcists, I wish you luck in your fight against the Noah and Akuma, and I hope you find that Innocence" Enea stated before continuing his walk, Merrick turned and waved softly to them before following Enea, the wolf watching them leave, whining softly, unable to follow as Enea and Merrick left quickly from the area. Lavi turned to it, looking at the large unnatural sized wolf beside him. Instinctively he reached out and touched it, managing to touch the creature's ear before it noticed the wolf jumping back slightly before relaxing and looking to Lavi carefully.

"So what do we do, the Akuma that had been causing trouble has been destroyed, but that still leaves the wolf" Allen stated, stepping over to Lavi and looking to the wolf before bending slightly and extending his hand. "Hello" He said, smiling softly to the wolf. The wolf stared blankly at him for a few moments before huffing and turned to walk off, pausing for a moment and waiting for Lavi and Allen to follow before continuing. Lavi and Allen looked to each other and shrugged, the wolf heading in the direction that Enea and Merrick had gone a few moments ago as though to start following them.

Sure enough, they emerged not too far from the house itself, Baldr turning and walking towards it with Lavi and Allen in tow. However as they reached the house they found that both Merrick and Enea had disappeared, no evidence that they had ever been there. Lavi frowned as Baldr whined softly as he inspected the house inside and out. The two were no-where to be seen, and there were no tracks that showed which way they were going. Eventually Baldr gave up, huffing softly as Lavi and Allen too decided to call it a day, turning to head back to the village only to find the wolf following them Lavi quietly wondering to himself what had caused the two to suddenly leave such as they did. However no matter how much he thought about it he couldn't come up with a likely answer.

As they entered the village they were met by the Finder who was rather surprised by the large wolf behind them, though he quickly recovered when they mentioned that he was friendly, the Finder telling them that a call had come through that they were to meet Lenalee and Kanda in the next town over. The next morning they set out, surprised that the wolf continued to follow them to the next town, the Finder remaining behind in case any other calls came through. Lavi wondered if it joined them because of possible Innocence or if the wolf was instead looking for his friends and decided that travelling with the Exorcists was the best way to find them. It was hard to tell, and since the wolf didn't speak, or make any motion to show its intentions Lavi was left guessing. So the three of them continued to the next town, rather oblivious to the turn of events that had been sparked by their arrival in the town.

…

Merrick hummed softly as they walked, Enea walking up just ahead of him, keeping an eye out on their surroundings. Merrick had wondered why the other had told him that they needed to leave so suddenly, usually Enea warned him in advance yet this time the two had left rather quickly. Enea taking everything from his desk and the few small belongings they had before setting out. Even now, something seemed to put Enea on edge and Merrick wondered if the other noticed something he didn't, after all, Enea had gone out to the village a few hours before returning stating that they needed to leave. Merrick had asked to say good bye to Baldr and see if the wolf would join them, but they had run into the Exorcists as well, something Enea hadn't accounted for. Merrick sighed, he didn't mind moving around so much, but sometimes he wished he could at least settle down somewhere, perhaps make friends with things other than animals and maybe even work and earn money. He wanted to help Enea as much as he could, but Enea regularly told him no, Merrick knew he wanted him to be safe, but it did feel like he was pushing him away more often than not.

"How long do we have to keep walking for?" Merrick asked, Enea turning back to him, they had been travelling since yesterday afternoon and hadn't stopped at all, not even at night.

"Just until we get to the next town, then we can rest" Enea replied, stopping slightly to let Merrick catch up to him.

"But we've been walking for so long, and the town is another two days away" Merrick complained, Enea sighed, looking around the area then stopping.

"Fine, we can stop, but only for a few minutes, they're still following us" Enea sighed, sitting against a nearby tree, Merrick sat beside him, lying down and resting his head on Enea's leg.

"I thought you said they wouldn't find us here" Merrick stated softly.

"I thought they wouldn't" Enea admitted, and he had almost believed that they had truly managed to escape. "It's alright Merrick, they won't get us, I made a promise to you didn't I?"

"Yeah, I know, just sometimes I wish we didn't have to run, I'm sick of running"

"Me too." Enea mumbled, before sighing and looking around their surroundings. They sat for a short while in silence, Enea closing his eyes briefly before re-opening them, the sun shining through the canopy.

"We should probably start moving again, we're not moving fast enough and if we're not careful they could catch up" with that they began on their way again walking a little faster than what they had before.

It was night time when they finally slowed down, moving away from the main road and taking to the forest that lined near it. The trek was slower and a lot harder in the night time but it was safer and even as they continued on in the shadows the feeling that the ones hunting them catching up hung heavily in their thoughts.

A whistling sound, like that of a knife flying through the air caught Enea's attention and he instinctively ducked, pulling Merrick down with him who cried out a little in surprise. Enea quickly put his hand around the others mouth, silencing him as he listened out for any sign of someone else there. Heavy footsteps echoed through the night and Enea felt Merrick tense beside him, the others eyesight significantly better than Enea's own and most likely able to see the man approaching. Neither dared to breathe as the man approached, stopping just inches from where they were hidden and staring into the darkness.

"Come on Jay! They'd be almost at the next town by now" a feminine voice spoke from a distance, the other turning slightly.

"I was sure I just saw that damned brat in the tree line" The gruff voice of the man spoke, almost on top of them.

"It was probably just an animal" the feminine voice stated, and the man growled, stepping back and walking back the way he had come. After a short while they left, and Enea and Merrick were able to relax slightly, though they dared not to move until they were sure that they had gone. Once they were sure that the hunters were gone they begun moving again, walking deeper into the forest but close enough to the road to know where they were going. They no longer moved fast, the hunters were in front of them, now they had to make sure that they kept enough distance between them make it appear as though Enea and Merrick had passed through the town already.

They had reached a clearing when multiple sounds of whistling came at them from all directions, Enea barely had time to dodge them, managing to avoid most of them, a few scratching his arms and legs, Merrick catching one in the back of his leg and crying out in pain. Enea tried to hush him but it was too late, they had already been found and sure enough the large frame of the man they had hidden from only a short while ago appeared in the clearing, lantern in hand and a dark grin on his face. The smaller form of the feminine speaker behind him.

"Well, well, look what we have here, I told you they hadn't gotten that far Luka, and what do you know, here they are" The man laughed, the other behind him sighing softly. "Now then, what to do with you?"

"We've been ordered to bring Merrick back alive" Luka stated softly, shifting his gaze from Enea to Merrick who was pulling the knife out from his leg. Enea shifted so that he was standing in front of Merrick watching the two carefully.

"What about the ninth?" Jay asked.

"Do what you want, the organisation has no more need for him." Luka stated and the man laughed, taking a step closer.

"I won't let you" Enea growled, stepping back slightly and taking Merrick's hand in his watching the Hunter carefully.

"Heh, you don't have to, all you have to do is stand still so I can kill you" he replied. Enea swore softly under his breath as multiple knives appeared suspended in mid-air before flying towards him, Enea moving out of the way quickly, bringing Merrick with him. The knives continued to fly towards them and Enea changed his direction moving back into the thicker part of the forest and making a run for it towards the road, the road may be more open, but it gave them a chance to run faster. Luka sighed softly, watching as Enea ran into the brush followed closely by Merrick, a shadow of a smirk falling on his face, the knives spinning slowly in the air around him.

"They never learn do they, I would have thought that after so many years of working with us he would know that we're not easily out run. Also why aren't you using that ability to prevent them from moving, it'd be quicker" Luka stated, laughing softly, Jay laughing with him.

"More fun this way" he replied and started off after them, Luka looking up to the moon in the sky.

"Merrick will be at full power soon" he mumbled to himself before following his companion quickly. The moon was in its last stage of waxing before the full moon, if they had any chance of capturing the kid it had to be now or they would have to wait a whole three days before they could try again, and that gave the two just a little too much head start. They had already stuffed up that one once, they weren't about to do it again.

Enea and Merrick emerged from the forest stumbling, righting themselves before turning and running the way they had come before quietly hoping that the hunters wouldn't expect them to go that way. Unfortunately they were just a little too close behind than what Enea had anticipated and they only just narrowly avoided another onslaught of knives from Jay only to be faced with Luka standing in front of them, smirking at them, his arms crossed but stance ready to attack. The two came to a halt as Jay closed in from behind, Merrick stepping closer to Enea and watching the larger male carefully.

"Oh Enea, my dear fool, you should know better than anyone that you can't out run us" Luka said softly, swiftly moving towards Enea and grasping his neck, sharp nails digging into the flesh and drawing blood as he kicked the back of Enea's knees, forcing him to the ground. "You were such a good Hunter, pity that you had to betray us like that, Father was so disappointed in you" he continued, his words laced with venom as he stood over Enea, hand tightening on his neck making it harder to breathe.

"Leave him alone!" Merrick cried, moving to attack Luka but finding himself stopped by Jay behind him.

"Uh, uh kid, I wouldn't do that if I were you, you wouldn't want your brother to die would you?" Jay spoke from behind him, twisting the arm that he had caught around Merrick's back and using his other hand to wrap around Merrick's neck, holding him carefully so not to kill him but to prevent him from escaping. Merrick struggled against the grip, his free hand digging into the wrist holding his neck but to no avail. Enea was helpless, unable to breath well thanks to Luka's grip and forced only to watch fearfully.

"Scrawny little kid aren't you" Jay laughed "I honestly didn't believe what the organisation had told us until I saw you destroy the previous Hunters who were chasing you" Jay continued, Merrick still struggling against him, yelling at him to let go. Jay merely ignored it as he watched Luka slowly strangle Enea, releasing him when the other was close to going unconscious but not quite, Enea falling forcefully onto the gravel underneath him.

"Now then Merrick, this won't hurt a bit" Luka stated, producing a syringe as he walked around Enea and towards Merrick bringing it to the boys neck as Jay held the smaller male as still as possible, Luka injecting Merrick with the substance before tossing the syringe away and stepping back, Merrick falling limp in Jay's arms almost instantly.

"Take him back to the carriage, I'll finish off the Ninth" Luka stated, Jay frowned softly but complied, picking up the limp body of Merrick and tossing him over his shoulder.

"Don't take too long" Jay stated, turning to walk off after giving Enea a kick back down to the ground as he struggled to stand back up, laughing as he walked away.

For a while nothing happened, Enea still struggling to stand while Luka watched his companion leave, once he was sure that he was far enough out of the way, he turned to Enea beside him. Stepping around Enea's body he reached forward picking him effortlessly despite the size difference up off the ground, allowing him to get his footing before landing a blow into Enea's stomach. He proceeded punching him a few times before letting Enea fall back to the ground, walking over and taking hold of Enea's hair, straddling him and leaning in to kiss him heatedly, though there was no passion or desire in the action, only hatred. He pulled away when air became necessary to him, using his grip on Enea's hair to slam him into the ground. Standing back up and letting Enea fall limply from his grip coughing from the punches to his abdomen and wiping the blood away from the cut on his head weakly.

"My, my Enea, pity really, that it should come down to this, I really liked you, you know, strong, clear minded, smart, you made the perfect Hunter. Perhaps that's why it took so long to locate you, after all, you knew all the tricks, you knew how you could avoid being detected" Luka sighed, using his foot to roll Enea on his back and stepping onto his torso, leaning over slightly so that his face was parallel to Enea's. Enea groaned shifting to try and push the other off him but found he was unable to move, his eyes widening as he realised he his body's lack of movement. Luka laughed on top of him, a soft eerie laugh that filled the quiet night.

"You forgot about that didn't you, my ability to paralyse, I gave your little friend some of it as well, though only enough to make him sleep, makes it easier to take him back with us if he's not struggling." Luka stated. Enea tried opening his mouth, but even that was unable to move, he suddenly became well aware of his heart rate slowing down despite the fearful state that he was currently in and Luka noticed this as well.

"Ah, you've noticed, good boy, I wonder if you know when I administered it first, was it the knives? Or perhaps it was when I tried strangling you, or it could have even been the kiss I gave you" Luka smiled, Enea unable to answer as Luka grasped his neck and pulling him closer so that his face was beside Enea's ear.

"You can feel it can't you, the venom slowly paralyse each and every muscle in your body. Soon your heart will be slowing down enough that it won't be able to pump anymore, stopping altogether. You'll only have a few moments of consciousness after that, then, you die. Though I fear I gave you too much venom in that kiss in addition to what I already gave you, I had hoped for your death to be slower than this so that you had time to think about everything that you had done to save your precious little brother. Don't worry Enea, I promise, we'll take great care of him, once his memory has been erased and his obedience set to answer the orders of our Father." He laughed softly "Well then Enea Hunter I bid you farewell, perhaps we will see each other in hell" Luka continued, letting Enea fall limply to the ground and removing himself from Enea's chest waving a short farewell as he walked in the direction Jay had gone with Merrick only a short while ago. Enea couldn't do anything, his mind already going cloudy as his heart continued to slow down, he was going to die, and he hadn't even been able to protect Merrick at all. Feeling a tear fall down his face he waited as his vision turned dark and his body finally succumb to the poison that had been fed into him.

**And that's the end of chapter 2~! You can all hate me now for that ending haha (please don't D:) **

**Note: Luka is like, androgynous, haha i used he, but i might use she in later chapters. I also have NO idea if Animals can have Innocence... I even looked it up and can't find anything about if they can or not... SO~! For now the Wolf-ie has Innocence haha... **

**Poor Enea and Merrick... XD also... again sorry for any OOC-ness of the characters... .-. **


	3. Chapter 3

**So this Chapter is a little longer than the others... And we get more characters, both OC's and Man~! YAY! **

**Also little bit of BL (like... a kiss (that isn't a character trying to kill the other). You guys get to find out more about who the Hunters belong to as well~! **

**So ENJOY~! **

**Chapter 3 **

Lavi watched as Baldr trotted up ahead of them, the large wolf walking this way and that as he followed what Lavi guessed was a scent. He had come across something a little while back and since then had been carefully trailing something, or someone. Allen and Lavi remained behind him, not wanting to interfere with the wolf in case he was searching for something to eat, though that seemed unlikely since he kept to the road and didn't stray from it. Lavi watched as the wolf suddenly ducked into the forest, disappearing for a moment before returning, catching more of a scent and running off ahead.

"Looks like he found what he was looking for" Allen stated, Lavi humming his reply as they continued to walk, following slowly to where Baldr had ran off to. As the wolf came into view again, they stopped mid step, noticing the form that Baldr was beside, whining softly and nudging it with his nose. Lavi and Allen both looked to each other before running over, the identity of the person becoming apparent as they came closer. Lying on the ground was Enea, his tall frame beaten and scratched, dried blood over his left eye, the ground beneath him also covered in blood. Baldr whined softly nudging Enea again with his nose but he got no response, Lavi wasn't even sure if he was breathing.

"What on earth happened?" Allen asked, looking around the area and noticing something glinting in the sun, he walked over to it finding an unusual shaped knife hidden partially by the dirt. Allen leaning over and picking it up, inspecting the knife closely. Lavi leant down to Enea, pressing two fingers to his neck in the hope of finding a pulse, it was there, weak, but still present and Lavi visibly sighed turning to look around the area as well. Only a few indistinct scratches in the bark of the trees proved that there was even any sign of what could have been a fight.

"I don't know. But he's alive at least, he needs urgent medical attention though. What's that?" Lavi asked, taking note of the knife in Allen's hand as he turned to the white haired boy. Allen shook his head, frowning softly as he handed the knife over for Lavi to look at.

"A knife it seems, I don't know, I've never seen anything like that before" Allen explained, looking to Baldr who looked to Enea worriedly.

"I have" Lavi whispered, Allen casting him a confused look but not questioning it, after all Lavi was still a Bookman. "We should hurry to the next town and get him to a hospital, I don't know how long he's been lying there for, but there's still a chance to save him" Lavi stated, Allen nodding softly and the two lifted Enea off the ground, Baldr offering up his back to carry Enea which both Allen and Lavi were grateful for.

"Wait, where's the other guy? Merrick?" Lavi asked suddenly, looking around the area and frowning slightly, there was no sign of blood other than Enea's and no sign of the other either.

"I don't know, perhaps Enea knows what happened to him" Allen replied, Lavi's frown deepening as they continued on their way, they were still far from the next town and if they were to help the other they needed to move fast.

They walked in silence, only ever stopping unless it was completely necessary, Enea thankfully wasn't getting any worse than he had been when they found him and as they finally reached the town Lavi visibly sighed. They were met by Lenalee, who looked to the wolf and Enea worriedly, before mentioning that there wasn't any hospital in the area and that the Doctor himself was away (something they had found out when a few civilians had been hurt in their fight with the Akuma). In the end Enea was brought to the inn where Lenalee and Kanda were staying, Baldr forced to stay outside, while Lavi, Allen with the help of Kanda brought Enea inside. Lenalee had called Komui explaining the situation and they were to wait for an Ark door to be opened to the area. An unusual occurrence but one that was necessary due to the situation.

Lavi remained beside Enea, knowing probably the most out of the four in terms of medicine due to his training as a bookman. The wounds on Enea's body were minimal, the head wound far from deep enough to cause substantial damage leading Lavi to conclude that he had been poisoned by something. The question was what, and until the science team and or, the Doctors back at the Order could look at him they wouldn't be able to treat it. For now instead, Lavi turned to the knife that Allen had found in the same area, turning it around in his hands as he considered the possibilities of its presence, a small engraving of the alchemy symbol representing Jupiter on the small almost in-existent handle.

"Lavi, Komui is here with Bookman and a few of the medical team" Allen's voice brought him out of his thoughts and he looked up to the white haired boy, noting the short form of Bookman and the taller form of Komui behind him. Bookman said nothing as he entered the room, walking over to check Enea's vitals pausing when he reached the boys wrist revealing the alchemy symbol for Mercury tattooed there. A deep frown fell on his face and Bookman turned to Lavi, noticing the knife in his hands.

"Where did you find this?" He asked in a gruff voice, taking the knife from Lavi's hands and looking at it carefully before handing it back to his apprentice.

"It was found nearby where we found Enea, I was wondering about its significance" Lavi explained as Bookman handed back the knife, returning it to the place where he had stored it for the moment. Bookman hummed softly, turning to Komui, the frown still prevalent on his face.

"I do not advise saving this boy's life, but if you wish to save him go ahead, what has happened to him he may or may not have deserved, but it is dangerous to think that news of his survival to those who tried to kill him will not bring consequences." Bookman stated, before walking out of the room, motioning for Lavi to follow. Passing one last glance towards Enea he followed his teacher out of the room leaving Komui and Allen to ponder his meaning.

"What did he mean by that?" Allen asked, Komui merely shook his head, walking over and checking Enea over before sighing softly and ordering the medics to bring Enea back to the Order.

Bookman and Lavi left the small Inn in silence, Bookman leading him out of town before turning around to face Lavi who nearly ran into him, not having noticed the motion.

"You spoke the boy's name, so you must have met him, when, where and how long ago did you meet him?" Bookman interrogated.

"When, five days ago, Allen was knocked unconscious and he helped us out as there wasn't a hospital or doctor in the town just three days walk from here where Allen and I were searching for the reason behind several disappearances." Lavi answered quickly

"Was there anything unusual about the way he acted when you met him?"

"No, not unless you count the day that they actually left, Enea seemed rather tense and a little frightened of something, though I had no chance to question it"

"There was another with him?"

"Yeah, a boy called Merrick, I'm not sure of the relation between the two but he was quite a few years younger than Enea."

"And this boys whereabouts?"

"We don't know. We couldn't find any sign of him where we found Enea, come to think of it, he was a strange kid, observant he could see things that weren't noticeable to others. He was the one who came across us when Allen was knocked unconscious."

"Did he look frightened in Enea's presence?" Bookman asked, Lavi shook his head.

"Perfectly comfortable, the two got along well and Merrick generally did what Enea asked him to do" Lavi explained. There was a moment of silence between them as Bookman thought over the information.

"That boy had the alchemic symbol of quicksilver on his wrist, did the boy, Merrick, have any such symbol on his wrist?" Bookman asked. Lavi thought for a moment, thinking back to the interactions with the strange boy. None of what he could think of gave him a clear picture of the boy's wrist. Eventually Lavi shook his head, frowning softly.

"I don't know, he could have, but I didn't see it, if I had I probably would have made the connection between the knife and Enea's attack earlier." Lavi explained. Bookman humming softly.

"It's obvious who they were running from, given the markings on his wrist and the weapon found in the area, it is dangerous to think that anything can be done to save the boy Merrick, providing that he was just taken and not killed somewhere else and with that there is no guarantee on either scenario. You need to be careful Lavi, the people who are part of this organisation are dangerous potentially more so than the Noah, keep alert, and tell no one else of the boy." Bookman said, Lavi nodding as his mentor returned back into the town, Lavi gazing around him before following. Lenalee greeted them half way back to the Inn wondering where they had gone off to and stating that they were return through the Ark, Komui already leaving with Enea. None of them noticed the two forms hidden in the shadows watching them carefully.

"I thought you said he was dead" a gruff voice growled out softly to the smaller frame in front of him.

"I thought he was, looks like he showed more resilience to my poison than I thought he would" Luka laughed "Oh well, even if he is still alive, he's out of the picture for now"

"He'll come looking for him, you know that, and Father won't be too pleased to know that you didn't finish the job" Jay stated.

"Oh hush, what he doesn't know won't hurt him, and anyway, once the boy has his memory erased he won't even so much as remember who Enea was, when that happens we can have Merrick kill Enea, don't you think that would be more fun?" Luka replied, grinning slightly as he turned to the carriage behind them walking over to it and casting a gaze over the sleeping form. He had been sleeping for a long time, knocked out by the anaesthetic Luka had administered, though he had been given enough to ensure that he didn't wake for at least a few days, they hadn't taken any chances, binding him in chains and shackles engraved with powerful enhancements that could hold anything down.

"Stop staring and get moving, if we're late we'll know about it" Jay growled from behind him, shoving Luka inside the carriage before stepping up to the driver's seat, taking the reins and urging the horses forward.

…

Enea awoke with a start, at first he had considered the possibilities of heaven, or rather hell, but when a sharp pain escaped from his chest he brushed aside all thoughts of death, instead turning to how it was that he was even alive. He stared up to a white ceiling, lights blindly bright and the rest of his surroundings rather blurry. He blinked a few times and everything slowly cleared up, Enea able to distinguish a drip beside his bed and connected to his arm, curtains which were drawn closed and the white sheets of the bed which were drawn up to his chest. Enea frowned, he had no idea where he was or how he got to where he was and his mind was unable to comprehend anything past feeling numb and sore, however those two combinations worked.

In attempt to find out where it was that he was, Enea sat upright, or at least as much as was possible the movement causing him to double over in pain, crying out slightly as his muscles cramped throughout his entire body. He could hear footsteps running over to him, the form of a woman appearing and ushering him back down into the bed with soothing words that Enea didn't hear. Enea only vaguely noticed her stating something about getting someone and leaving as quickly as she came, Enea left alone to contemplate what he was going to do as memories of what had happened before waking up in the white room flashed through his mind. The Hunters had gotten Merrick, after so many years of running he had lost, and he wasn't even sure where the Argentum Organisation was located anymore let alone whether he would get out of whatever place he was in.

A second person entered the room, this time a man clad in a white lab coat with glasses and a beret who greeted Enea with a soft, kind smile that Enea wasn't particularly expecting.

"Good to see you finally awake. How are you feeling?" He said, checking the drips attached to Enea's arm and turning to talk to the Nurse quickly.

"Sore" Enea answered softly, his throat dry, body aching and only just registering what the man had said, humming softly the smile no longer on his face and a slight frown taking over. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Black Order at the moment, I'm Komui by the way. You are very lucky you know, normally the amount of poison in your blood stream would have killed a man your size at least twice" Komui stated, Enea humming, honestly he would have thought that he was going to die, given Luka's desire to see him dead. "You should get some more rest, I wouldn't suggest trying to force yourself to move very much, though you survived, the strain put on your body due to the paralysis did do a fair amount of damage and it will take a while for you to recover fully." the man continued, writing a few things down and again checking the drip and Enea's arm, before leaving the bed side and closing the curtains more giving Enea some privacy. The nurse returning some time later with a new drip and a glass of water which Enea was rather thankful for, the nurse aiding him in actually drinking it.

Komui sighed softly as he left the Order's hospital, pleased that the boy had woken up. It had been a few days since they found him and despite the amount of remedies they gave him Komui hadn't been all too sure if he would actually survive. Turning down one of the many halls he went in search of Bookman, the older man upon returning to the Order had requested to see the boy when he awoke. Komui was in no place to deny him, given the stern look he had been given when Bookman gave the request, as a result he was also unable to send the Bookman on any missions until the boy awoke. Now that he was awake Komui would be able to get at least a few answers that he hadn't been able to get before. Ever since they had brought him back from the village in Scotland Komui had been thinking about the meaning behind Bookman's words, he wanted to know exactly what the Bookman had meant and just who or what they were dealing with should whoever tried to kill find out that he was alive.

Turning a corner he was rather surprised when he came across the Bookman himself, silently pleased that he didn't have to search the entire order for him (really he was just going to make an announcement asking the Bookman to come to him).

"Ah, Bookman, I was just looking for you" Komui stated, Bookman giving him a mildly surprised look.

"What seems to be the problem supervisor?" Bookman asked.

"The boy that Allen and Lavi brought back from the town in Scotland is awake"

"Right, you don't mind if I see him then?" Bookman asked, though both knew that whether Komui permitted it or not the Bookman was going to go anyway.

"Of course not, it was why I came looking for you" Komui replied

"Is that the only reason?"

"Ah well, yes…"

"You wish to know the meaning behind my warning" Bookman stated, Komui didn't reply vocally instead nodding softly. Bookman sighed and walked the way Komui had just come from, signalling for Komui to follow. The two returned to the hospital bed where Enea lay, Bookman pulling open the blinds and walking through, Komui closing them as he entered the area, turning to Enea who looked a little surprised at the sudden appearance of Bookman and reappearance of Komui. None of them spoke as Bookman pulled over the nearby chair, taking a seat beside Enea's bed and watching him carefully, Enea feeling rather exposed under the watchful grey eyes of the man.

"You are Enea, one of the ten Hunters are you not?" Bookman asked, Enea stared blankly at the man, surprised by his question, Bookman waiting patiently for Enea to answer Komui looking between the two quietly.

"I was, but not anymore" Enea replied slowly, glancing quickly to Komui in the corner of the curtained area.

"Not anymore? You left?" Komui asked

"I guess you could say that" Enea stated, looking up to the ceiling, the extent he had gone to get away from the Argentum had almost killed him, if it hadn't been for Merrick he probably would have died many years ago.

"The boy that was with you, Merrick, as my apprentice called him, is he a Hunter as well?" Bookman asked. Enea looked back down to the Bookman with a start, before shaking his head as well as he could from where he was laying.

"No, he's not"

"If you don't mind me asking then, why was he with you?" Bookman asked "And why was he not left for dead like you were" he continued. Enea didn't answer right away, again turning back to stare at the ceiling, he could feel his hands shaking, though whether it was a side effect of the paralysis or not he didn't know.

"Merrick was with me because he was the reason I escaped in the first place. And he wasn't left for dead because he's the original, they need him in order to create the rest" Enea stated.

"Original what?" Bookman inquired, a silence falling on them, Enea glanced to Bookman. He didn't trust him, granted he didn't trust many people, it was something he had been taught long ago. Again Bookman waited patiently for an answer, and Komui remained silent, the reason Bookman had warned them not to get involved becoming clearer as the questions and answers continued.

"He's the original of what the leader of the Organisation calls, Iscariots, singly silver or silver pieces, Merrick is the first successful creation of these, but he won't be the last, the Organisation wishes to create thirty of them." Enea sighed softly. Both Bookman and Komui stared at Enea, neither quite expecting what Enea had told them.

"What does he wish to do, once he's created all thirty of them?" Komui asked slowly, catching Enea's attention and breaking the silence that had fallen.

"When the thirty pieces of silver are created and all the Iscariots are assembled, they together will betray the will of God" Enea stated. "I took Merrick away from there to prevent the Iscariots from being created, Merrick knew what they were going to use him for and he didn't want it either, so we escaped, in the end it lead to my own ruin." Enea continued speaking softly and closing his eyes and turning away from the two to show that he was no longer going to speak. He had told them all that he was ever going to tell on the matter. Merrick in the hand of the organisation will lead to the creation of the other twenty nine Silver pieces, there wasn't anything they or anyone could do about it. The Iscariots were created to destroy everything that the Leader of the organisation considered created by God.

Bookman sighed, standing from the chair silently and leaving the curtained room, Komui in tow. They walked in silence out of the hospital and towards the library, reaching the doors of it before Bookman turned around.

"You now know why I said not to get involved, however now it seems that with what Enea had mentioned about the Iscariots and their betrayal of the will of God, the Order may have to become involved anyway, though what the betrayal means not even I know." Bookman said, frowning at the fact that he didn't know the information that was possibly most needed, he knew Enea would know, but he doubted that the other would tell.

"How much do you know about the organisation that Enea was in?" Komui asked, he wasn't answered, Bookman only turning to open the door of the library and leaving Komui alone to ponder the question himself.

…

Enea woke from a dark sleep, opening his eyes to find an almost equally dark room, a feint light in the distance the only proof that he was indeed awake. He frowned, he didn't remember falling asleep nor was he even sure what it was that had woken him up. Sighing he looked around the darkened room, nothing had changed since the Bookman and Komui had come in to speak to him. At least he was sure nothing had changed.

The sound of something cracking to his left made him jump slightly, and he turned to where the noise was, seeing nothing until his eyes fixed on a large shadowed figure sitting beside the bed. Another cracking and Enea was faintly more aware of the other moving, emitting a deep sigh as they placed something down on the table beside the bed and moved in the chair.

"Evening" A smooth, baritone voice spoke, Enea tensed, he recognised that voice anywhere.

"Icarus?" He whispered, the man humming in reply as he moved, a small light appearing in the area just above the desk lighting up the room enough for Enea to see the man's face. Blue eyes looking at him kindly, his blonde hair pulled back neatly as it always was, a short beard lining his face.

"Who else?" The man asked.

"I thought… "

"You thought that Luka and Jay would tell us that you were dead, yes, they did, but then they also don't know you like I do" Icarus stated, cutting off Enea mid-sentence.

"So you're here to finish the job?" Enea asked, his voice slightly giving way. The man chuckled softly, leaning back in his chair.

"No, I'm not here to kill you, if I was I would have done it already to save you the pain of having to witness your own death." Icarus stated, looking towards where the light just outside the curtained room was. "No, I came here on another mission and was passing when I saw you here, to be truthfully honest I was relieved to find you here, rather than our in the middle of nowhere." he continued, looking back to Enea with a saddened look in his eye.

"Oh" Enea whispered, and they fell into silence for a short moment as neither was sure what to say.

"I brought you some walnuts, well rather I brought me some, but I figured you may want some when you awoke. You still like them don't you?" Icarus asked, turning to the object he had placed on the table earlier and bringing it forward. Enea nodded softly and the other smiled softly, handing over one of the pieces he had broken from the shell earlier, feeding it to Enea much to his embarrassment. For a while they fell into companionable silence, Icarus feeding the pieces of walnut to Enea while also eating a few himself, he had scolded Enea when he reached for them himself, threatening to tie his hands together. After that Enea decided it wasn't worth fighting against him, especially not when his body was still recovering from the paralysis.

"… Is he… ok?" Enea asked softly when they had finished the few walnuts that Icarus had brought, Enea staring up to the darkened roof.

"Merrick? Wouldn't know." Icarus shrugged.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Luka and Jay apparently ran into some trouble getting him back to the organisation, no idea what, the idiots probably did something stupid and riled him up enough that he was able to break through the chains they put him in and escape."

"He escaped?!" Enea exclaimed, before remembering where he was and clamping his mouth shut, Icarus checking to see if anyone heard Enea before continuing.

"Yeah, though Father has all of us on the look-out for him, so I'm not sure how long it will be until they find him again"

"Why are you telling me all this?" Enea asked, frowning slightly at the other "I betrayed you, and the organisation, if you're telling me this then you're risking being called a traitor yourself." Icarus shrugged softly, sighing as he leant forward again, closer to Enea's face and locking his gaze to Enea's.

"As far as I'm concerned you didn't betray me, only the organisation. And I'm telling you this because I know what Merrick means to you. Sometimes I wish I had left with you, if I did perhaps things would have turned out differently, but I'm stuck, Father has me under constant watch, it's only because the others are out searching for Merrick that I was even able to see you. Enea, you might not believe it, but you always came first, not Father, not the organisation, not even the Hunters, I did what I did to protect you, though in the end it only served to hurt you" Icarus spoke, whispering the last parts as a hand reached over to caress Enea's face softly. Instinctively Enea leant into the touch, craving the familiarity. Enea welcomed the press of the lips against his, though the kiss was chaste, displaying only the love and affection that the other wanted to prove, to remind Enea that what they had before Enea left the organisation was still there.

"I should probably go, else they're going to start asking questions" Icarus sighed as he pulled away, Enea didn't reply, only nodding softly as the other slowly stood and left muttering a soft farewell, the light disappearing from the room as he did. Enea sighed, mind falling to Merrick, he had to find him, though he had no idea where to start, he had to find Merrick and ensure that the Hunters didn't get him again.

…

The announcement calling for Komui to report to the hospital was not something that Reever thought he would be waking up to, let alone at such an early time in the morning. Reever unfortunately was now set with the task of waking up Komui who despite all attempts remained fast asleep, until Reever moved to his last result, telling the sleeping man quietly that Lenalee was going to get married to whoever he could think of off the top of his head (which just so happened to be Allen). He waited a few minutes taking at least two steps back as Komui sprung awake calling for Lenalee and waking up more of the Science team who had crashed in the mess that was Komui's office. When the man had finally calmed down a bit, he noticed that Lenalee was no-where in sight and the announcement calling for Komui to report to the hospital was still being sent over the speakers.

"Oh… I wonder what's happened." Komui mused, before he suddenly remembered the current and only patient that was in the hospital. "Ah!" He stated simply before walking off towards the hospital quickly, Reever stuck staring after the supervisor unsure precisely what was going on.

Komui arrived at the Hopsital in a rather short amount of time (compared to his usual time getting places) to find Enea out of his bed and trying, emphasis on the word trying, to make his way to the door. However his body was still not fully recovered from the paralysis and Komui was surprised that he was even standing, though was currently fully supported by the frame of the end of the bed. The nurse busy trying to get him to go back to bed, pulling him towards it, but Enea's persistence proved stronger than hers and he kept his ground.

"You need to lie down, you're not well enough to move yet" The Nurse stated, Enea groaned out in reply, taking a step only to stumble and force himself against the bed again. Komui could see the determination on his face, something had gotten him riled up, and he wasn't about to let himself be stopped, whether his body was healed enough or not. Komui walked over to the two, stopping not too far in front of Enea and catching the others attention, brown eyes looking at him darkly in a way almost similar to Kanda's rather characteristic stare.

"Enea you need to lie back down, as the nurse said, you're far from recovered and if you keep pushing yourself like this you're not going to" Komui reasoned, though Enea showed no sign of actually listening.

"I need to go find and help Merrick" Enea whispered, attempting to take another step and collapsing yet again, this time towards Komui, Komui reacting fast enough that he was able to catch the other, though only just managing to support him.

"Yes, but this isn't going to help him, you can't even walk, what are you going to be able to do if it comes down to a fight?" Komui replied, he felt Enea tense slightly as he tried to push himself away from Komui instead falling down onto the floor of the hospital, his hands clenching together until his knuckles were almost white.

"Damnit!" Enea growled, his body was shaking from the exertion he forced onto it, and he suddenly felt sick, leaning to rest against the side of the bed, Komui squatting so that he was eye level with him, sighing softly as he ensured that Enea was alright. Neither said anything, the nurse standing awkwardly to the side until Komui asked her to get Enea some food and drink, finally helping him up and back into bed as the nurse left. Quiet fell in the room of the hospital, Enea lying still in the bed, gaze pointed towards the curtain. Komui himself wasn't sure what to say either, he had very little idea of the situation that Merrick was in nor the relationship between Enea and Merrick, making saying anything rather difficult. In the end he resulted for quiet, sitting beside Enea partially as support to know he wasn't truly alone and to ensure that he didn't try to get up again.

The Nurse returned with simple soup and water, placing it on the table beside the bed before helping Enea sit up. Komui left shortly after, the nurse also walking out with Komui as Enea assured her he could eat by himself just fine. The two walking over to her office.

"He's going to be difficult to look after" She sighed, shaking her head softly "Especially now since that other came in and talked to him"

"Other?" Komui asked, frowning slightly, not many people knew about Enea's presence in the Order, nor did Enea know anyone in the Order.

"Yeah, a male, quite tall and large, I almost thought it was Noise Marie, they had a similar build but his voice was all different, I listened in but couldn't catch much, the boy knew who he was, and they seemed on rather good terms with each other, though I did hear something about an escape and a father" the nurse explained, keeping her voice low as though expecting someone to hear her. Komui thought for a moment, the fact that someone had come to see him was concerning.

"Did you hear anything else?" Komui asked, the nurse thinking for a moment.

"They were talking about some Organisation, I'm pretty sure I heard the boy mention something about betrayal as well. That's all I heard though, shortly after that the other man left and Enea went silent, I checked on him a little while after and he had fallen asleep. When he awoke not too long ago that was when he tried to leave" The nurse sighed, casting a gaze over towards where Enea, thankfully was still lying, the curtain left open enough that the Nurse could see him.

"Keep an eye on him, I've got a few things I need to do, but I'll come by later to check on him, don't talk to anyone about it ok, this needs to just stay between us" Komui said, the nurse nodding softly before Komui left the room, walking rather quickly to the library where he was sure that Bookman most likely was.

…

A man with sleeked back brown-ish blonde hair and a toothbrush moustache stood staring at the wall in front of him with a frown. Rather it wasn't the wall he was staring at, but instead the dead form punctured to it, arms hanging out perpendicular to the body symbolising a crucifixion, a cross made from the man's own blood behind him. It was clear a fight had ensued beforehand by the damage on the Crow's body. However the cross wasn't the only symbol on the body, in the centre of the man's chest was a circle surrounding a smaller circle painted in gold paint. Despite the inconspicuous way the message was delivered he was very aware of who, or rather what, had killed the Crow operative.

Footsteps echoed from behind him, though he did not turn as the footsteps stopped and the man they belonged to took in the sight.

"Argentum?" he asked, the man's frown deepening. "I didn't think they knew the location of the Black Order?" he continued.

"They didn't, they were hunting him." The man stated, turning on his heels and walking away from the wall. "Link, have someone come and clean this up before anyone else finds it, the last thing we need is others finding out about it" He said, Link nodding softly though he didn't see.

"Of course Inspector" Link sighed softly looking quickly to the operative before walking away from the wall as well in search of other Crow members he knew were present in the Order. The Inspector continued on his way, a frown set into his features. He had received messages a few days earlier about the presence of what appeared to be one of the ten Hunters of the Argentum within the Order itself, whether it was the same person who committed the crime on the Crow or someone else he wasn't sure, but he would be soon.

Speeding up his steps he headed towards the hospital that was resided within the Order, it was a good thing that he was already here, otherwise who knows, the Argentum operative might have already gotten away.

**It's starting to get a little more interesting now~ I'm pretty sure you can work out who was just introduced then (his description is pretty obvious haha) **

**The Black Order already knows of the existence of the Argentum~ that can't be good haha... especially not for poor Enea...  
>Note: Enea and Icarus are the only two who will potentially be paired in this entire story... but their relationship won't be anything past what happened in this chapter. <strong>

**Anyway~ reviews are nice~ ^-^ **


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is a bit shorter than the last... though it brings in a little more of who and what the Hunters and the Argentum Organisation actually are... sort of haha... we also get Leverrier and Lavi reappears again!. **

**Also sorry if this chapter seems badly written, it was annoying me a lot to be truthful with you (i didn't even want to edit it -sighs-) but alas it needs to happen to make things progress. **

**Chapter 4 **

Enea sighed softly, sitting on the side of the bed, the drip now gone from his arm and he was able to move a little more than previously, though the Nurse was still unsure about letting him walk around too much. He had been left alone most of the time, though Baldr had trotted into the room to see if he was ok, remaining at the side of the bed where Enea could pat him before disappearing again. Enea had wondered why the wolf was even at the Black Order, but given the fact that he had helped to destroy the Akuma in the village that Enea was in until previously, there was a chance that it had Innocence. If that was even possible.

Footsteps broke him out of his thoughts and at first he thought that it may have been Komui returning to see how he was going. However as they came closer he was well aware that it wasn't Komui even before the man stepped into the curtained area, the sound of the step and the shoes themselves far different from the unusual Supervisor. The man that arrived was just a few centimetres taller than Enea, dark blonde almost brown hair slicked back and sporting a toothbrush moustache which strangely matched the facial characteristics of the man. Enea frowned softly at him, he had a rather unkind look and Enea knew just from gazing briefly at him that this man wasn't to be trusted, even among his own colleagues.

"Who are you?" Enea asked softly, watching the man carefully, he caught sight of the nurse in the corner of his vision looking worried but not advancing towards them.

"I could ask the same for you, but since i already know what you are, you may as well tell me why you are here." the man replied sternly, stepping forward a step.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Enea asked, completely avoiding the question.

"You are one of the Ten Hunters, your kind are far from unknown to the Vatican."

"Hm, yes I can imagine that, after all, we have killed quite a few of your little followers in the past" Enea replied, venom lacing his words, the man looking towards him darkly.

"What was the reason for killing the Crow operative?" The man asked suddenly, Enea raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about" Enea stated

"You lie."

"Oh? Do I? I'm pretty sure I'm telling the truth actually. I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about. "

"The Crow operative who was killed two nights ago, you're trying to tell me you had nothing to do with it?" the man stated. Enea froze for a moment, it had been two nights ago since he had seen Icarus, the words of why Icarus was even there in the Order suddenly becoming clear.

"I'll have you know that I was here, all night, you can ask the nurse if you want." Enea stated finally, sitting a little more upright on the side of the bed. "You can also ask the supervisor, Komui, I think his name was, as well, I have absolutely nothing to do with the death of your Crow" he continued, for a while the man stood in silence, watching Enea under distrust filled eyes.

"Oh, Inspector Leverrier, what are you doing here?" The voice of Komui came from nearby, both Enea, and the Inspector turning to find the man standing at the edge of the curtains boundary looking to the taller man with surprise. He wasn't alone either, both Bookman and Lavi were also behind him, though neither seemed too particularly surprised by the Inspectors presence.

"He was just about to leave" Enea stated, swinging his legs back over onto the bed and resting his back against the head rest. The Inspector glared towards him.

"Don't think that you being here means you are immune to being incarcerated by the Church, I will be watching you." The Inspector said, turning his back on Enea.

"Watch all you want, but I won't be killed by you or your church, no matter how hard you try." Enea stated as the Inspector left the room, Enea glaring at the man long after he was no longer visible. For a while there was silence, Komui and the two Bookmen standing in silence.

"So do you three have a reason for being here or am I lucky enough to get visitors?" Enea asked almost sarcastically, after his meeting with the Inspector his mood had been rather soured.

"You seem to have recovered well" Bookman stated, stepping over to Enea who looked to the short man. "Considering the amount of poison that was in your body."

"Yeah, well, let's just say I'm used to the toxic stuff" Enea shrugged softly. "You still haven't stated why you came here"

"We wish to find out more information about the Iscariots and the Hunters, their abilities, how strong they are, who they are planning to attack, and why they are planning to attack" Lavi stated, Enea noted that he seemed a lot less laid back than when he had first met the red head, obviously an effect of his Bookman training.

"Surely you don't need me to answer that" Enea sighed. "And I don't particularly feel like answering it either, the Iscariots are designed to kill and destroy, who or what is irrelevant, the Hunters well, everyone who knows of them knows that there's ten of us, each with their own ability and each varying in power from one to ten."

"What number are you?"

"Nine." Enea replied shortly, he caught the surprise look on both Lavi and Komui, though Bookman showed no sign of surprise, the man possibly already knowing that piece of information.

"Nine?!" Lavi exclaimed.

"Yeah, what's so surprising about that?"

"Nothing… it's just, the one who attacked you must have been a five or something if they managed to do so much damage to you" Lavi explained softly, Enea sighed.

"No, the bastard just caught me off guard, the numbers go up, so the stronger you are the higher the number, the ones who attacked us were seven and five" Enea sighed "It's pretty understandable how Merrick managed to escape as well, stupid idiots have no idea how much power Merrick has, especially on a full moon" Enea hummed, laughing softly to himself, he would have liked to see the faces on those two when Merrick escaped.

"Wait, didn't you say he was captured? How is it that you know he escaped?"

"Intuition" Enea shrugged softly at the lie.

"This has been plaguing me for a while, but just what is your relationship with Merrick?" Komui asked, Enea looking to the man curiously.

"Merrick is my brother, though we don't look too alike, he is my brother nonetheless" Enea explained.

"That makes a lot of sense" Komui agreed, nodding softly "Though if your brother truly has escaped from the Hunters that had him, then where could he have gone?"

"I don't know, that's why I need to find him, of course, I can't because you seem adamant on keeping me here"

"Ah, yes well you still need to recover from the wounds on your body"

"I'm pretty sure I'm fine now, I've done with worse, trust me"

"With Leverrier knowing of your presence here it will be a lot harder for you to leave, you do know that right? He won't just let you go, and he most definitely won't let you out of sight" Bookman stated.

"I managed to avoid the Hunters for five years of my life, I'm pretty sure I can avoid the Crows just as well, perhaps better." Enea stated, neither the Bookmen nor Komui saying anything. Silence fell in the room and Bookman moved to leave, deciding that the conversation wasn't going to go any further. As the man slowly left, Enea came up with a rather interesting idea.

"Wait! I have an idea" Enea stated, catching the Bookmans attention and Lavi and Komui's attention along with it. "What if I remain here with the Black Order and you help me find Merrick? All in your best interest of course, after all, Merrick is a weapon that can be used to destroy you, we wouldn't want him to be recaptured and used to create the rest of the Iscariot's now would we?"

"I have no say in this matter" Bookman stated softly "Lavi and I are merely a neutral party"

"Of course, the Bookmen always were, but what do you say Komui? After all, there's no guarantee that the leader of the organisation will only attack one side of this war" Enea stated. Komui looked to the ex-Hunter carefully though he gave none of his intentions away, his gaze perfectly shielded, much like the Bookman's.

"You know the Order won't like the idea of a Hunter, even an ex-Hunter such as yourself joining right?"

"Of course not, but why should that matter, without me you have no chance of even stopping the organisation from continuing on with the Iscariot plan, though I won't ever let you anywhere near my brother, at least with me here I'll not only have more chance of finding him, but also more chance of ensuring that you all actually survive a little longer than what you might should they re-capture Merrick." Enea explained. Silence falling, Bookman turned again, huffing as he did.

"Do what you will Komui, come Lavi, we have much to do" Bookman stated, leaving the room, Lavi leaving a short while after. Komui remained behind, mind thinking over the possibilities and the likeliness of Enea joining, even temporarily, the Black Order. He would have to ask the Great Generals, and even then there would be no guarantee that they wouldn't just put him to death. He had heard the conversation between Leverrier and Enea, the Hunters were responsible for the death of one of the Crow, and perhaps countless others. Whether it was Enea or not, the Church would want at least some deliverance for their death.

Enea watched the Supervisor carefully as the man thought quietly to himself. There was very little chance that Enea's plan would work, but he had to try. Merrick's life depended on it, even Icarus' life depended on it to some degree. Merrick's body wasn't made to support that much power, no body was, the amount of power that circulated the body at full power would tear it apart. Even Enea's own abilities took a toll on his body and though it allowed him to be more immune to poisons, his life span was still dramatically decreased.

"I will talk to the Great Generals, there's no guarantee that they would let you survive past a few days of you being here if they decide to decline your request but there is always a chance."

"When was there ever going to be a guarantee that I was? Just so you know, I've survived at least two attempts on my life from Hunter operatives, I'm pretty sure I can survive against the Vatican's Crow operatives" Enea stated, grinning ever so slightly at that fact.

"Well, we can only see, I'll speak with them today, if I explain that it is in our best interest to let you survive and help find Merrick they may be more open to the idea" Komui sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his eyes, he hated things like this. Enea merely nodded and Komui saw that as his cue to leave. There was a possibility that Leverrier had already alerted the Great Generals, but Komui wasn't all that sure.

**The next chapter is going to be interesting indeed~**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter (despite my current annoyance at it). **


	5. Chapter 5

**More characters!~ WOO! -dies- have to admit i actually had to research a little bit for this chapter. Again it's not a very big chapter, but it's bigger than the last one. Things are actually starting to progress a little more now as well, and the story will probably move a lot faster. **

**anyway... i'll stop babbling. Enjoy~!**

Chapter 5

The room was dimly lit, a long straight table set in the centre of it with eight chairs positioned around the two ends, five occupied by cloaked figures, their faces obscured by their hooded cloaks and the dim light of the room. Enea cast them a strange look as he was escorted into the room by Komui and a man with long blonde hair plaited at the back and two red dots on his forehead. A Crow operative from what Enea knew of their descriptions.

"Please, take a seat" one of the figures said, motioning to the three chairs positioned at the end of the table. The blonde and Komui taking a seat on the edges while Enea was forced to take the seat at the end of the table opposite one of the cloaked figures. There was an eerie silence until one of the figures spoke.

"Do you know who we are?" They asked sternly.

"Partially" Enea answered truthfully. "You are the Great Generals of the Black Order correct?"

"That is correct" another said. "And you, are a Hunter correct? An enemy of the Black Order and the Vatican"

"Ex-Hunter actually, I escaped a long time ago"

"Escaped? Last I heard the Argentum Organisation didn't just let its operatives escape, it might be practising in the works of the devil but their leniency to such acts as escaping are not taken lightly. Since you are alive, that suggests that you are still with the Argentum Organisation."

"No. I escaped, granted I nearly lost my life in the process, both back then an quite recently, but I can assure you, I am most definitely not with the Argentum Organisation, and I have no inclination to return to them either." Enea explained sternly, sitting back in the chair slightly and watching the figures in front of him talk amongst themselves quietly. Enea was able to catch a few words, though they didn't mean much.

"Why are you here? Hunter." The figure opposite asked, though he couldn't see most of the face of the man he could feel his eyes on him.

"Because your Exorcists and Supervisor were nice enough to save me" Enea replied, they talked amongst themselves briefly again before turning to Enea again.

"Komui Lee, Chief Officer of the European Branch, is this true?"

"Yes, two of our Exorcists came across him in a small town in Scotland, Enea and his brother who is not currently with us were very friendly towards the Order and in fact helped them when they were in trouble despite the risks involved. When Enea was found wounded and close to death they asked for help since the town had neither a doctor nor a hospital to take care of him so we helped." Komui explained, making sure not to mention just which Exorcists were present on the mission.

"And these two Exorcists that met Enea in Scotland?" one of the Generals asked, Komui paused for a moment, hesitating before he answered.

"Allen Walker, and Lavi." He replied slowly. There was silence in the room, everyone aside from Enea knowing what the mention of Allen's name meant, after all, there was still some doubt on Allen's allegiance to the Black Order after the White haired boy was found to have some connection to the 14th.

"Enea Hunter, if that is your name. Tell us. Why did you request to join the Black Order?" one of the Generals asked slowly, Enea looked to the General who he was sure had spoken, eyes taking in as many of the features of the person as he could before answering.

"I have a means of finding my brother, Merrick. He was taken from me a week ago and while he has escaped from his captors I must find him from the ones that hunt him."

"The ones that Hunt him, are the Argentum Organisation is it not?"

"It is"

"Then why should we? Involving you in the Black Order may potentially bring more attention of the Argentum Organisation to us."

"The Argentum Organisation already has its eyes set on you, the Noah and your Holy war." Enea stated stunned silence filling the room.

"I beg your pardon." Came the slow reply.

"You heard what I said and I have no intention to repeat it. If you knew of the organisation's existence but did nothing about it when it first started then you and your church are idiots. The Argentum Organisation has been waiting silently in the shadows waiting for the right opportunity to attack and destroy all of you. And they are very near that opportunity." Enea explained. "Should they get the key to this opportunity you will all be destroyed."

"And this key is your brother" one of the Generals asked. Enea was actually rather surprised how they managed to put two and two together.

"Correct, Merrick is the key, and that is why I request your acceptance to temporarily allow me to join your Order so that I can find him and ensure that the Argentum Organisation cannot move forward"

"But why would you wish to stop the Argentum? Those of the Argentum pledge allegiance to the Argentum before joining, if you know what they are planning, by their very nature, would you not support it?" It was the blonde that had escorted him into the room that had asked this question and Enea glanced at him briefly.

"You make it seem like I actually had a choice in being part of the Argentum." Enea stated. "True, I don't really care for what the Argentum does normally however, I care about Merrick and i care about preventing him from doing something that he does not want to do and to prevent the Organisation from creating such things as the Iscariots. I could care less about your little war, or you, for the most part either."

"Iscariots? You have not mentioned them before. Just what is the nature of these Iscariots you speak of?" A General asked.

"On the contrary I have spoken of them, just not their name. The Iscariots are the window of opportunity that the Argentum Organisation is trying to ensure. And I can assure you, if they get hold of the key to their creation you will all be destroyed and there will be nothing I can do about it"

"And what's to say that when you find and successfully save your brother that we would let either of you live? If the Iscariots are to destroy us then we will kill the seed that creates them to ensure that they cannot be re-created"

"I believe that you will be rather disappointed then, because once I have Merrick by my side again I will not be traceable by either you or the Argentum Organisation."

"You're making it rather hard to acquiesce your request Enea, not only are you, a Hunter, though you claim to have left the Organisation that you previously served, wish to temporarily join the Black Order to find this key to creating something you called an Iscariot, and then simply, disappear. There is also no guarantee that you yourself won't create the Iscariots anyway."

"You seem to not understand, I am doing this because I don't want them created. Why would I want to create the Iscariots! I know what the power that is embedded in them does! I know the pain that is a result of so much power! Do not think for one second, that just because I have killed many people mercilessly that I would allow such things to be created, and I will not allow them to use my brother for such uses either." Enea growled out, the Generals went silent for a moment before turning to talk amongst themselves.

Time passed and the Generals still talked amongst themselves quietly, Enea mildly surprised how well they could talk so quietly and be heard by each other while not being heard by the three others in the room. Neither the blonde nor Komui spoke, waiting for the order that would come from the Generals. Regardless of the decision, either one would walk away with Enea, the only difference would be that with one, Enea would be condemned to death. With the other, he would survive, hopefully long enough to find his brother and get away from all of this mess.

"We have made our decision" the General sitting in front of Enea spoke, watching Enea carefully from his position. Enea didn't reply, waiting for the other to continue. "Given the current severity of the situation that you have described, we will allow you to join the Order to find this key to the creation of the Iscariot's. However, once you have that key, you and your brother will be required to pledge allegiance to the Vatican and serve us, or be sent to death."

"Bit of a price to pay don't you think? And what makes you think that either Merrick or I will agree to join you?"

"You will. Or else you will be executed, you claim to have done what you have to ensure that Merrick is safe, we can assume then that his life is in your best interest to preserve. If you wish to save your brother Enea, then you will join us whether you want to or not"

"Fine." Enea stated, though he held no desire to agree to their terms, he knew what the Order did behind closed doors, they were just as guilty as the Argentum Organisation for doing things that could be considered evil. The only difference was that they declared it was to finally bring an end to the war. In their minds, the ends justified the means. And Enea was able to understand why the Argentum was adamant on destroying them both. Perhaps if it wasn't in such a way Enea would have actually taken part in it.

"Well then. Welcome to the Black Order Enea Hunter." The General opposite him said, Enea catching the shadow of a smirk on his face, Enea chose to ignore it, standing from his seat and walking out of the room. Komui and the blonde following him quietly after giving their respects to the Great Generals, Komui emerging with a deep sigh.

"Well, I guess that went better than it could have at least" He stated. "I guess I should organise everything for you, though I feel as though putting you in an Order uniform would be rather, let's say, satirical, given your current standing."

"I would have requested that you didn't anyway" Enea replied and the man nodded softly as they left the doorway, the blonde following them for a small while before leaving, disappearing somewhere that Enea didn't really care about, pleased that he had gone. For the meantime he was to remain in the Hospital, though he was stronger and able to move around more than he had a few days ago he was still weak.

After a few days Komui provided him with a room and a set of clothes taken from whatever they could find that looked to fit his build until such time as they could get clothing that would fit him. Enea was finally out of confinement and able to socialise, though he did so rarely and kept to himself most of the time unless it as necessary to speak, deciding instead to observe the people within the Order. It struck him as strange that the Order would contain such polar opposites within its ranks, but when he compared it to the Argentum Organisation he found that they were very similar. The possible only major difference being religion and motive, the Order wished to protect the world from the Noah and destroy the Noah. The Argentum wish to just destroy them both and be done with it.

Enea sighed softly, as he entered the cafeteria, looking around quietly before walking up to the chef (who honestly had startled Enea when he first met him) and ordered his food, retreating to a corner to eat. He was joined by Baldr who sat nearby, watching Enea eat quietly, ears pricking up and tail wagging as Enea fed him some of the food from his plate.

"He quite likes you" A soft voice spoke from in front of him, Enea looked up from where he was giving the oversized wolf some of his food, Baldr taking it softly and eating it in one mouthful.

"I think he just hangs around for the food to be honest" Enea stated watching as the girl took a seat opposite him. Enea recognised her as Komui's sister, though couldn't remember her name.

"He seemed pretty concerned about you when you were in the hospital, if it wasn't for the fact that the nurse kept driving him out he probably would have stayed by your side" she continued, smiling softly to the wolf then to Enea. Enea didn't reply, merely finishing his food before standing and walking off, Baldr following him. He hadn't gotten very far when a man dressed in a lab coat requested that he see Komui in his office. Sighing softly Enea complied, perhaps he had come across a sign of where Merrick could have gone, though it was rather unlikely.

Komui sighed softly, looking to the Generals that sat before him, they had heard of the presence of the Hunter and wanted answers. Unlike the Vatican and Central, the Generals didn't know as much about the Hunters, but the danger that the Hunters imposed were not unknown. As a result the Generals had come to Komui for answers that Komui wasn't entirely able to give, he only knew about the Hunters from what Enea had said about them in passing. He was relieved when the door opened and Enea walked through, raising an eyebrow at the company in the room before closing the door and walking towards them.

"You wanted to speak to me Komui?" Enea stated, expression carefully guarded.

"Not so much me as the Generals in front of me" Komui sighed, pointing to the four seated about the room.

"Oh? I'm not going to be interrogated again am I?" Enea asked, watching the four carefully as he approached the group.

"No, we merely wish to talk casually with you is all. Please have a seat, we mean you no harm or Ill will." One of the Generals spoke patting the chair beside him. Enea noted the honest look on the grey haired man, but he didn't move, resulting in the other to sigh softly.

"My name is Froi Tiedoll" He continued slowly, "The lovely lady next to me is Klaud Nine, and the two men who sit opposite are Cross Marian and Winters Socalo." Tiedoll continued, indicating to each of them as he went. Enea hummed softly, resting against the edge of Komui's desk so that he could see them all at once.

"So this is the kid who the Great Generals are so unsure of, doesn't look like much if you ask me" Winters stated roughly, laughing slightly at his statement.

"Kid?" Enea questioned "I'm thirty one. And for the record I could probably kill you without you so much as blinking an eye" He continued.

"Ah we don't need any of that here!" Tiedoll cut in before Winters could react to Enea's statement.

"Tell us, Enea, we know about the Hunters but we don't know how powerful they are, if the Argentum Organisation are going to attack us as the Great Generals believe given your statement, we need to know how to at least defend ourselves against them" Tiedoll continued looking to Enea quietly, his friendly face more serious than it was before.

"The Hunters each have their weaknesses and strengths, the higher their ranks the stronger they are."

"There's ten of them correct? So the strongest would be the Hunter whose number is One?" Klaud asked, Enea shook his head, it always was a misconception about the Hunters that many people had.

"No, ten is the strongest, he has the ability to control light and energy, one is the weakest, but he has an immunity to other abilities making him pretty hard to kill" Enea stated simply, shrugging softly.

"You are a Hunter, or were a Hunter yourself weren't you? Where were you in the list?"

"I am the Ninth, and I have the ability to control metal, mostly quicksilver, which grants me a slight immunity to poisons and other toxic substances as a result" Enea replied.

"So that's how you were able to live through that much poison" Komui mused quietly from behind him, Enea only partially noticed the statement nodding his head softly though not replying.

"What are the others abilities?" Komui asked, suddenly a little more interested in the conversation. Enea didn't reply at first, humming as he remembered the nine other hunters.

"Well as you know, the Tenth can control light and energy and One has immunity to abilities. Eight has the ability to create electricity and control it, Seven, she's the bastard that poisoned me, and as such has an immunity to all toxins, more than myself. Six, she has the ability to change shape, and bend her body parts to create something else, it's kind of gross watching it." Enea stated, visibly shivering at the memory of first witnessing the Sixth Hunters abilities. "The Fifth has the ability to control gravity to some degree, he can make things fly as though they are weightless and can also cause them to drop to the ground using the same method as well. The Fourth can copy abilities and combine them together to become stronger, she is probably the most dangerous in combat because of this. The third can cause things to explode or combust spontaneously, even if they're not flammable, and the Second can create force fields and protective barriers. He is usually in accompaniment with another Hunter and very rarely goes out on his own." he continued.

"Those are some terrifying abilities." Klaud mused softly Tiedoll nodding his head in agreement. "Though just how powerful are each ability?"

"That depends really on the person they're fighting and the style of the fight. Whether the hunters work together will also influence their strength. Hunters such as the Tenth, myself and the Eighth could probably fight a Noah pretty easily by ourselves. The others most likely not."

"Is it possible to kill them?"

"Yeah, don't see why it shouldn't be" Enea replied rather bluntly, though he was hard to kill himself, he wasn't invincible, and the only reason he managed to survive twice was most likely luck more than anything else. The room went into silence, the Generals most likely out of questions as they thought over the information that Enea had given them on the Hunters. He was considering leaving when one of the Generals spoke again.

"How strong are the Iscariots then? If some the other Hunters have the ability to fight and hold their own against a Noah, then just how powerful are the Iscariots?" Cross Marian asked, Enea thought carefully, he knew roughly how strong the Iscariots were, but since the fight where he saw Merrick use his abilities was for the most part blurred in his mind, he wasn't a hundred percent sure.

"They're more powerful than the Tenth that I know, their abilities work around the moon. On a full moon they're more powerful. As to precisely how strong they are I wouldn't know. However their powers can cause sufficient damage to their bodies that it can kill them."

"So they're unable to withstand it?" Marian asked, Enea nodded, frowning softly.

"Yes, they can't withstand it. Even the Hunters have problems with their abilities if they are used too much, but not on the level of the Iscariots. It is part of the reason why I got Merrick away from the Argentum, if he was forced to use his powers to destroy the Noah and Order it would destroy him, and the other thirty should they be created."

"Terrible" both Tiedoll and Klaud mumbled to themselves.

"What I don't understand is why the Argentum want to destroy both Exorcists and Noah, why not just destroy the Noah?" Marian stated roughly, frowning towards Enea.

"To put a final end to the war I guess" Enea shrugged softly, he knew the answer, but wasn't inclined to say all of it, it would become clear what the Father had planned soon anyway. The Generals nodded softly as they concluded that there was nothing else to talk about, Enea had given them more than enough for them to know what they were up against. They left all on their own, Enea leaving some time after Marian and Winters returning to his room before heading up to the training level, it had been a long time since he used his abilities and he needed to be ready for the attack.

**Now you know the powers of the Hunters~! and the Iscariots to some degree... **

**I brought in a little more of Enea's motives for doing things as well... i was going to have him being rather secretive about it all, but then, Enea's not an idiot, he knows that to get what he want's he has to give others what they want, and since he's trying to find Merrick before the Argentum, well~~ yeah... Next chapters will hopefully bring in a few more Argentum and perhaps even the Noah, i'm trying to get the Noah into the story, but it might take a while. **


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter is a few months after the events in Chapter 5. Basically the events that occur in the time gap is that both the Exorcists and the Argentum Organisation have been looking for Merrick, currently the Noah don't have any idea that the Argentum have started moving. So far no one has found any trace of Merrick. **

**Chapter 6**

A cool breeze came from the North, sweeping through the empty town quietly, rustling through the trees that lined the road. The stars shone brightly and the moon was half way to the new moon. However all was not quiet, up ahead a battle was taking place. This battle was just one of many that was all part of an ongoing several thousand year war. But soon, that war would be brought to an end.

A figure stood in the shadows, watching the fight quietly from a distance safe enough that they wouldn't be noticed. The fight had been going on for a better half of the night and it intrigued them to no end how much the opposite sides put into trying to destroy each other.

"We're supposed to be looking for the Silver piece, not stand around and watch a fight" A voice spoke from behind the figure. They turned around, taking in the large form of the other who looked to them with a scowl on their face.

"No need to get your panties in a knot Jay, it's already clear the kid isn't in the town" Luka replied, waving away the order and turning back to the fight, it seemed that the Exorcists were winning this time.

"And whose fault is that" Jay growled softly, looking around surrounding area quietly. "Come, we don't have time to slack off, each day we spend looking for the damned silver piece we lose in actually setting this plan in motion" Jay continued turning to walk off, Luka sighing softly and turning away from the battle to follow the other Hunter. Luka wasn't ever able to know whether the Noah's minions or the Exorcists won that battle, but they guessed that it was probably the Exorcists, the demons that were controlled by the Earl were never that strong.

…

Enea let out a large sigh, collapsing onto the bed of the Inn and pulling the pillow over his head to block out the sun and the noise that was behind him. He, along with Allen and Kanda were sent on a mission to southern France for Innocence, there was also a sighting of Merrick somewhere nearby and so Enea was sent along with them. Enea however wasn't at all expecting the amount of bickering that two people could have, and Allen and Kanda had been bickering for most of the trip. And were still bickering.

"Stupid Moyashi!"

"It's Allen! BaKanda!"

The two yelled at each other, Enea looked up from his pillow glaring towards the two of them. Neither noticed, both arguing about something that Enea couldn't even place, the argument long ago deviating from the actual thing that had started them off. Enea didn't even care what they were arguing about, he just wanted them to shut up.

"Will you two shut the hell up!" Enea growled out, catching the two Exorcists attention, both looked to him, partially in surprise and partially in anger that was most likely left over from their argument. There were no words as Enea glared to the both of them just as darkly as they to him.

"That's better" Enea said finally before almost slamming his face into the pillow, pleased that there was now silence. He heard Allen turn to talk quietly with the Finder, all anger gone from his voice as they talked about the possible places where the Innocence confirmed in the area was. After a short while and with very few words between Kanda and Allen they set off around the town in search of the Innocence, Kanda going off by himself while Allen and Enea remained together, Enea looking out for Merrick as they walked through the streets.

"So just what are Akuma anyway?" Enea asked, breaking the long hours of silence between them. He knew about them, but not exactly what their direct characteristics were.

"They're demons created by the Earl and made to do the bidding of the Noah and the Earl." Allen stated. That was the part Enea knew, and he motioned for Allen to continue, the white haired boy looking to him curiously before continuing. "As far as I know, the Earl uses the dead souls of those that people lost to create them, then the created Akuma takes the skin of the one that had called them. There's different levels as well, level ones, Level twos, which are stronger than level ones who have more concious thought than level ones. Then there are level threes which are stronger again and Level fours" Allen stated, visibly shivering as he mentioned the last level of the Akuma.

"Oh, I always thought that they just had one form" Enea mused, Allen shaking his head softly.

"No, they can also hide their forms to look like regular civilians, which makes them even more dangerous." Allen explained.

"How does that work? They're metal aren't they, such huge things possibly couldn't fit inside a human" Enea stated, Allen merely shook his head again, unsure how it all worked. Enea sighed, and they returned to searching in silence.

The past few months Enea had started to debate whether Merrick was even alive, the fear that escaping had taken a toll on his body enough to kill him plaguing his thoughts. He had pushed them to the back of his mind but they resurfaced each time Merrick wasn't found. A few of the others seemed to notice this, though they said nothing, letting Enea to his own thoughts as they continued to cross off possible hiding places. They had even checked the towns that Merrick had lived in with Enea when they escaped the first time, it had been the first thing they did, and each town turned up blank.

Something caught his attention, the smell of something metallic in the air, breaking his thoughts away as Allen yelled out that there was Akuma in the area. Sure enough as he looked up he noticed many various sized metallic creatures that floated in the sky just above the buildings. Enea casted a curious eye towards them, before he was forced to dodge, avoiding the bullets with ease and retreating to the roof tops so to get a better advantage. Not that he didn't need more advantage that he had already been given. He watched as Allen tore through them with ease, the creatures turning to dust almost instantly. Looking around he caught a few over the other side of the town as well, various explosions as they were destroyed indicating that Kanda was obviously over there. However despite how many Allen killed off, more kept returning.

"Damnit" He heard Allen growl as they started to corner him, the fact that they were easy to kill meant nothing as the sheer number of them were starting to exhaust white haired exorcist. Deciding that perhaps it was a good idea to intervene Enea stood from his place on the roof, concentrating deeply on the world around him.

At first he attempted to directly control the metal that the Akuma were made of, but no matter how hard he tried he could only take control of them for a few seconds at least, his powers weak from lack of use. Frowning slightly he resorted to the next best way to kill them, controlling an outside substance. He was quite pleased to find that there was more than enough mercury in the area and grinning briefly he took control of the liquid metal, summoning it to gather before him. It took a moment to gather enough mercury to be useful but he was successful, sending the metal towards the Akuma that were currently cornering Allen. He ignored the burning sensation on his wrist as he ordered the mercury to seep through the gaps in the armour of the demons and any and every exit that they could. As the creatures went to shoot they blew up, the mercury blocking the guns and preventing the bullets from escaping. As more mercury gathered Enea had it take form over the entire Akuma body, successfully crushing it from nothing more than sheer weight, others were forced to the ground and then destroyed by Allen who was no longer cornered by the beasts. Soon all of the Akuma were destroyed and Enea fell to the roof again, breathing heavily and his limbs exhausted. He looked to his wrist, the mark a deep red, blood seeping from it slowly. He frowned, pressing it to his mouth and licking away the blood that was there as a way to stop it from getting everywhere. He only vaguely noticed Allen stepping up to the roof beside him, looking a little concerned.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Fine" Enea replyed shortly, standing again and trying to ignore the dizziness in his head. "Though I think I may need a bit of a rest, been a while since I've used that much energy" He sighed, Allen nodding and finding a better way down. Enea didn't bother following, merely using the left over mercury to step down off the roof, much to the white haired Exorcist's surprise. The two decided that it would be best to return back to the Inn and start their search for the Innocence again. They hadn't found anything in the part of the town they had been looking in before the Akuma attack. They were surprised when they ran into Kanda half way back to the Inn. He wasn't alone either.

Kanda had come across who he believed was a Noah, though that didn't seem to be the case. The lack of grey skin and yellow eyes being the main indication that she wasn't a Noah. Then there was the symbol embossed on a navy blue jacket, a circle above a cross embossed in bronze. As far as he was concerned no Noah sported any such symbol. When Enea and Allen appeared suddenly in the area, it was obvious by Enea's reaction that the one Kanda had just come across was most definitely not a Noah.

The woman looked to the new comers, smiling unkindly as her eyes rested onto Enea, stepping down gracefully from the roof that she was standing on and walking so that she was only a few paces away from the group.

"Well if this isn't interesting" She cooed softly, blue eyes looking to Enea with hatred. "Let me guess, you're here for Merrick as well. Should have guessed that, that idiot Luka didn't kill you." She continued, Enea frowned softly.

"Nice to see you too Octavia" Enea said shortly, the woman laughed shortly, holding out her right hand, the gloves she wore crackling with static as she did. Enea stepped back a bit, he knew what was about to happen, and he didn't want to be anywhere nearby when it did. Octavia noticed the movement and grinned.

"Running is pointless Enea, you should know that."

"Yes, but when faced with a maniac that can generate electricity from the palms of their hands I think I'd much rather run" Enea stated. He was still exhausted from before but he felt that he would more than likely have to fight. Kanda beside him shifted, as though readying to attack the woman before him. At the same time there was a build-up of static in the air as Octavia conjured the electricity into her hand, light flashing as static and electricity collected, striking the ground and leaving an area of burnt earth all about her. Enea swore under his breath, as the electricity started to shift, forcing the three of them back a bit Enea collecting mercury as he did. There was only one way to avoid Octavia's attack and that was to make sure that there was something between her and them.

"How the hell can she do that?!" Allen asked, a frightful look on his face. Enea merely shrugged, he knew about the abilities, he didn't necessarily know how it was possible for them to use it.

"Get behind me, you two won't stand a chance against the attack otherwise" Enea stated, the electricity in Octavia's hand was almost entirely conjured, Octavia's clothes and hair sticking up from the static it caused. Finally she released it and Enea was thankful that he was strong enough and quick enough to gather enough mercury to form a thick wall between him and the attack, the mercury conducting the electricity within it. He heard Octavia growl out in annoyance, as Enea let the mercury fall to the ground in front of him, keeping it well away from himself and the two Exorcists as the charge dissipated into the ground. Enea swayed slightly, only just managing to steady himself and gain control of his rugged breathing. He watched as Octavia readied herself for another attack before taking in Enea's exhausted state and pausing, looking to the other with an amused look.

"Heh, you can't even do something as simple as that without getting exhausted, Icarus really did a number on you didn't he when he tried to kill you the first time. Even though you luckily managed to avoid being killed by Luka more recently, even I can see you're far from a threat. So I think I'll let you live for the meantime, perhaps you'll learn to regret your decision to leave the organisation when Father's plans are set into motion. Till then Enea, if you ever feel inclined to return to us, I'm sure Father will see it in his heart to forgive you." She said, smiling dangerously towards him before disappearing in a flash. Enea swore softly, swaying a little more before stepping over to the building nearby and sliding down it, head lowered as he rested.

"Father? Who did she mean by that?" Kanda asked, staring at the spot where she was, before turning to Enea. "And just who the hell was she?!"

"Octavia, the eighth Hunter and a pretty dangerous person if you don't know how to combat her, even then she's pretty scary. And Father or 'the Father' is the leader if the Argentum Organisation."

"Oh." Allen replied softly quiet falling over the group, Enea closing his eyes and waiting for the dizziness to subside a little from over exertion.

"Sitting around won't help find your friend" Kanda stated suddenly, turning all eyes to him.

"He's my brother. And I doubt he's actually here, if Octavia was still here then there's a chance that he's long gone."

"Is he even real?! I feel like we're just chasing a ghost" Kanda growled, Enea smiled grimly at the thought as Allen berated the other Exorcist for saying such a thing, resulting in them getting into another small argument.

"Perhaps we are" Enea whispered to himself, edging himself up the wall again so that he was standing, eventually staggering towards the Inn. Allen followed him closely but allowed Enea to walk alone. Enea finally collapsing on the bed of the Inn with a sigh. He could hear Kanda and Allen talk quietly about the Innocence, Kanda stating he had already found it before he ran into the Hunter. After that the two went quiet and Enea fell off to sleep.

Enea awoke with a start, eyes opening to the darkness of night, the moon shining brightly in the sky, the stars along with it. Enea frowned softly, the memory of the dream he had that had woken him still fresh in his head. He pushed it back, sitting up from the bed and taking in the sleeping forms of the others before stepping over to the window, opening it up and letting in the cool night air, leaning on the window sill and looking out. After a while he felt far more relaxed than he had been, deciding that it was a good idea to return to the comfort of his bed when something caught his attention. He paused staring down at a shadowed form hidden within the alley way opposite the Inn, the figure didn't notice him, looking up and down the road as though ensuring that nothing was there. Enea watched it carefully, the area that it was in was too shadowed in dark to make out any key characteristics that might prove who or what it was. Suddenly they ran out to the main road, Enea catching sight of mismatched eyes glinting briefly in the moon and he instantly recognised who it was.

Spinning around quickly he ran from the room and the Inn, emerging outside as fast as he could. When he arrived however the figure was gone, as though it had never been there to begin with. Enea frowned, turning this way and that, gazing quickly to the window of the room that he was in and following where his gaze was to determine where Merrick had been. He searched the entire area for most of the night, he had managed to find foot prints in the alley way and where Merrick had run out, but as he followed them they were covered by various other tracks of the town that still remained rather fresh. When he lost them he growled out in frustration, causing a few of the lamp posts in the area to groan as they bent slightly as he unconsciously took control of them. In the end he returned to the Inn just as the sun begun climbing in the sky, returning to the room before Allen and Kanda had even woke up.

Though he wasn't able to catch Merrick he knew roughly which direction the other was heading, now only needed to follow and hope to find him before the Hunters did.

**I'm sorry for the disjointed feel of this chapter... urgh... idk it feels horribly written D: SORRY~! **

**Oh! the symbol described on Octavia's jacket is the Alchemic symbol of Copper, or Venus it was very basically described i might add, sorry, there's actually a few symbols for Copper, though the most well known is probably the one associated with the planet, so to avoid confusion and over complicating i just described the base design for it. All of the Argentum Hunters have the symbol on their wrist (source of powers) and somewhere on their Jackets or person so to identify who they are. **

**You're probably wondering what Copper has to do with electricity too... It's used for Electrodes a lot XD, though it's not as good as silver or mercury, it's used a fair bit... but for this, we'll keep with the simple idea that Octavia can control electricity. Though really the alchemy symbols doesn't have that much of an influence on abilities except for really obvious ones (Like Enea's ability to control mercury) **


	7. Chapter 7

**So another short chapter, but, THE NOAH HAVE ARRIVED!~ This is happening at the same time that Enea and Octavia are fighting in the town in Southern France. Enea and the Exorcists don't appear in this chapter either... But the Argentum does 8D.**

**Just a warning! Towards the end there is a bit of a gory death/ torture scene... It's short, but it should noticeable so you can avoid it if you wish. **

**Also i'm not sure how accurate the Noah are, i went for their more serious sides, so sorry for any OOC-ness that may happen.**

**Chapter 7**

"I thought the Earl said there was Innocence in the area" Came a rather annoyed groan. It was midday and they had been in the town for at least two hours and hadn't found anything. They being the Noah, specifically Jasdero and Devitto, who were currently perched up on one of the many rooves of the town looking down into the busy streets below them. Jasdero laughed beside Devitto as the other looked around the streets, clearly bored.

"It's in the area, I can smell it" A whining sound of a voice came from beside the Devitto, Devitto turning to glare at the creature.

"Well then where the hell is it?" Devitto growled out, the Akuma whimpering back slightly, he pointed over towards what looked like a church at the end of the town.

"O…over there, I think…" It said, Jasdero mimicking the demon as Devitto stood and looked at the church. He frowned, of course the Innocence was over there, he thought sarcastically. With an annoyed sigh he jumped off the roof and into the crowd, Jasdero in tow as they made their way to the small church.

The church was nothing impressive, a little brick building with plain tinted windows and a small front garden that was left to grow as it pleased. It was quiet and the twins found themselves eyeing it carefully, something about the church and the nearby area feeling rather off-putting. After standing at the entrance of the church for at least ten minutes, they moved a little closer, almost expecting something to happen. When it didn't, Devitto and Jasdero almost charged towards the door, coming to a halt as they barged through the doors into the empty hall, the two rather feeling like idiots by their reactions.

Devitto eyed it curiously, something was missing. There weren't any people in the Hall, though that was to be expected, it was the middle of the afternoon and Mass didn't start for another hour or so. But there wasn't any cardinal in the hall either, though Devitto figured that he was just in the back, however there still wasn't any sounds of feet coming to find out what the almighty crash was that Devitto and Jasdero had caused when they entered. Still, as he looked around and observed everything, Devitto couldn't understand what was wrong with the Church. He had cancelled out everything.

"THERE'S NO EXORCISTS OR INNOCENCE HERE!" Devitto yelled as he suddenly realised what was wrong. The Akuma was wrong, and now they would have to go find the Innocence again. Devitto turned on the Akuma who had lead them here, the creature looking rather frightened by the Noah's anger.

"I…I was sure… that there… was… please… Noah-sama… there was Innocence here… I was sure of it… one of the other Akuma you sent saw it" It pleaded, though Devitto felt inclined to make it self-destruct.

"Where…" he instead growled out. Jasdero repeating the word with a giggle. The Akuma moved carefully around the Noah and towards the back of the church, Devitto and Jasdero following it as the creature blew off the door to the back room of the church. However as soon as it took a step inside the door the creature was destroyed in a bright inferno. Devitto stared at the place where the Akuma was destroyed, in its place stood a broad shouldered man, dark hair lining his face in a long beard, his hair also rather long and pulled back to stop it from falling over his face. He looked to the two Noah with bright eyes, a grin on his features as he stepped forward from between the door. A second person was with him, though the other was female and rather average in height and form, light brown hair falling in long waves down her back.

"Who the hell are you?" Devitto drawled, glaring at the two who had emerged. They didn't wear the exorcists uniform that he recognised, instead their uniform was blue in colour, both wearing a similar styled navy blue jacket with an arrowed moon like star on the top left breast and a lighter blue shirt underneath. Both had a different symbol on their person, though this was worn differently to each other, the man a sash that crossed his torso, a triangle sitting on top of a double lined cross, the woman a band on her arm, a circle with an arrow sticking on an angle from the top of it.

"We are the Hunters" The man cooed, his voice thick with a Russian accent that Devitto found hard to understand. "And you, are the prey." He continued, grinning towards them.

"What?" Devitto asked frowning at the man and woman behind him, he was quite aware that neither were Exorcists, though he didn't know who they were. The man walked towards them slowly, the woman emerging further and stepping the opposite way around the chairs, eyes never leaving them as she walked around the hall of the church, coming to a stop near the door.

"We are here to hunt you down and kill you" The woman spoke, her voice soft, almost calming. The twins watched the two carefully, something didn't feel right about the two that now had them basically surrounded, and they didn't want anything more to do with them. The sound of bone snapping caught their attention and they turned to see the woman's arm twist and bend, the bone growing at the shoulder and the hands, producing a huge disfigured claw that reached almost her entire height in length, the muscles growing so to be able to support the weight of the added bone. Devitto and Jasdero felt almost sick as the last part of the arm clicked into place.

"Now then, where shall we start? Dmitri, I want the blonde one." She said, her voice sickly sweet, yet still calming. The man, Dmitri laughed.

"Fine by me" Dmitri laughed, raising his hand and bringing his fingers together, clicking them together and causing the building around them to blow up in an inferno as the woman made her move, swiftly running towards the twins, large arm poised, ready to attack. Devitto and Jasdero barely had enough time to respond, only minutely dodging the attack. The fight had begun, and there was no escaping unless either one kills the other.

…

Road looked around the devastation that the town had been left in, buildings barely stood, most were knocked down. Smoke filled the air the fire it came from still slowly smouldering away on the remaining wooden foundations of the buildings. Some humans were crying in fear and distress, though not many lived after what had just occurred. Road frowned softly. If they hadn't of arrived when they did, there would have been a lot more loss than just a few humans. They would have lost two of their kin.

"Just who were those two?" She heard a voice ask, turning to the current Noah of Pleasure, Tyki Mikk, as he walked up to her, looking to the unconscious forms of Devitto and Jasdero carefully. He had been the first to enter the battle and had managed to scathe at least one of the two that were attacking the twins but they disappeared shortly after, Tyki unable to follow them.

"Hunters" Road replied, much to Tyki's confusion. "Though I thought that they couldn't harm us" She continued, the frown setting in deeper than before. She knew about the Hunters, as did the Earl, but since the others were only recently re-awakened they were unaware of the group. Tyki hummed softly as several Akuma arrived, picking up the unconscious Noah and carrying them back to the Ark.

"Think they'll come back?" Tyki asked, he didn't get an answer, Road merely stepping onto Lero and floating away through the heart shaped door that she had created, Tyki sighing and taking one last look around the town before stepping through the door himself, it shutting as he was within, disappearing in a puff of non-existent light.

A dark mood had indeed set over the entire Noah family when news of who, or rather what had attacked Devitto and Jasdero. Though they were far from dead, and their Noah blood would ensure that they recovered quickly, their wounds were more than was to be expected by others not containing Innocence, Devitto and Jasdero weren't the first to be attacked either, though substantially they were the worst affected. The Hunters were bold to attack his kin, and he wasn't about to let them get away with it.

"My dear children, it seems we have a new enemy, and a foolish enemy at that." The Millennium spoke, his voice was clear and he kept the child-ish phonics out of his words, this was no time to be light, and the Noah knew this. "The Hunters of the Argentum Organisation, an organisation twisted in false belief that they can grant humans unnatural powers, have dared to attack our own kin. And so, we will teach them what befalls them when they attempt to control something that is too advanced for such weak creatures." He continued. The Noah surrounded at the table agreed each in their own way, after all, what gave the humans the right to attempt to destroy them.

…

Music drifted through the rooms and halls of the large mansion, reds, oranges and yellows of the vibrant sunset drifting in through the windows. The Mansion for the most part was empty, only a few servants ever tended to the building and its surrounding gardens and these servants were very often only ever there once every few days. There were, on the odd occasion more than one person in the mansion, though that was only ever when they weren't on missions.

Icarus looked briefly to the garden before one of the windows he passed, it was covered in many different coloured roses, a place he had visited many times in the past. Now, he rarely stepped past the door that opened to it. Shaking his head softly he continued on his way, descending a flight of stairs hidden by a cut in the wall that had been strategically placed to look as though it wasn't there, following the sound of the music. He emerged in a dark hall, dimly lit with candles held by candelabras on the walls, the dark stone emitting no reflection. He passed many doors and alternate hallways, paying them no mind until he reached the room where the music was being played from, slowly opening the door and stepping in, closing it behind him and looking around the dimly lit area. In the corner stood the man he was looking for, hidden in by the shadows, beside him the music box that was playing the music. Icarus barely registered the muffled cry from the prisoner in the centre of the room, deciding to ignore his plea for help as the music was turned down to barely audible.

"He still hasn't answered my questions" the man spoke quietly, lighting a cigarette, the fire from the match momentarily lighting up the face and revealing cold hazel eyes.

"Perhaps he does not know them" Icarus stated calmly. The man hummed shortly, pushing himself off the wall and walking over to the prisoner in the centre of the room, grasping the man's hair and pulling him up slightly.

"Did you hear that? Icarus said you don't know them. I seem to think that Icarus is a rather daft man if you ask me." The man said, taking a drag from the cigarette, still holding the prisoners hair in his hand. The Prisoner cried out, though his words were muffled from the piece of cloth shoved into his mouth. Icarus sighed, watching as the man knelt beside his prisoner, blowing smoke into his face before pointing it to Icarus.

"He, might be daft, but you know something, he can do a lot worse than I can in torturing you to speak, so, either you tell me what I want to hear, or I let Icarus deal with you. And let's face it, you'd be dead in two seconds if I let him do that" the man said, his voice calm, but laced with enough venom that his words were dripping with it. The prisoner looked to Icarus fearfully, though Icarus himself showed no sign of what he thought, further frightening the prisoner. The man grinned, tearing the piece of cloth away from the others mouth roughly and standing upright, though still holding the others hair and using his grip to direct his gaze to Icarus.

"Well then, speak. Who do you work for and why were you sneaking around my house." He asked, the prisoner stared fearfully for a while.

"C..central…"

"Central who?"

"C…Central, one… of… of the sub-organisations of the Vatican… they… meaning… Insp..ector, uhh… Leverrier! Wanted to find out… why… why… why…" The prisoner faltered, but before he could speak again a stream of white light flashed through the dark room and the man fell, head destroyed and blood covering the man who had been holding him, along with everything else that was in close proximity, including Icarus himself. The man sighed, kicking the now quite deceased body softly with his foot.

"Now why would you do that Icarus, I had just started to get answers from him" He said, looking up to the man in front of him as Icarus turned off the music that was playing in the room.

"You already knew where he was from and why he was here, I didn't see the reason why he needed to say any more. Not that he could, he seemed pretty incapable of saying as many words as he did" Icarus sighed, the man laughing softly as he removed his jacket and wiped away the blood that was on his face.

"Are Persephone and Dmitri back from their mission yet?" He asked.

"They returned a short moment ago"

"And?"

"And, they nearly destroyed their targets but were forced to retreat when more appeared in the area. Seems the Noah Bondomu was stronger than anticipated."

"Hmm, perhaps I should have sent Octavia out with Persephone instead, though she was out hunting down the Iscariot." The man sighed.

"Any luck on finding him?" Icarus asked, though by the look the man gave him, he assumed that luck wasn't really on their side. The man didn't reply, instead walking out of the room, Icarus following him in silence.

"The Iscariot is the final key to my plan, without him I can't destroy both the Noah and the Exorcists. The others are already looking for him, but I fear that time may be running out. With the Noah now more alert to our presence they will now be looking to avenge the few that we attacked. The Exorcists too have come across those hunting for Merrick, Octavia herself reported that she had come up against Enea!" the man stated.

"Enea? But didn't…"

"Yes! Luka told me they were successful in killing him! But no! He still lives! My dear son still lives! Though he works in tandem with those spiteful Exorcists and Black Order." The man stated, appearing rather over joyed with the fact as opposed to angered. "But no matter." He stopped suddenly before continuing his walk, a dark grin setting into his features.

"Icarus, I feel it is time to start moving our pieces forward. Gather the Hunters, bring Enea home, even if you have to drag him here, I want my son back. The Iscariots may be unfinished, and we may not have Merrick but i ensured that there was at least a back up plan should we ever need it."

" A back up plan?"

"Yes, with Enea's blood i will be able to finish the Iscariots, though they will be weaker than if i used Merrick's blood they will be completed enough to be of some use" The man exclaimed, as they emerged back in the white marbled halls of the mansion, though now it was far darker than before.

"Of course, father" Icarus replied, bowing low at the waist before walking quickly away from the man. A deep frown setting into his face, he just hoped that Enea was able to find Merrick soon, and avoid what was to come. Icarus' hands were tied, there was nothing he could do to help Enea without being labelled a traitor himself, and he would much rather be on the side that he was sure would win and survive then die. He just hoped Enea was there with him.

**Heh... that makes things a little more interesting~ **

**Hope you guys enjoyed it~ ^-^**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok! So i had to re-upload this damned thing because formatting went nuts... no idea why and i seriously hope it fixes itself... **

**Anyway... short chapter. Sorry about that. Hope you enjoy. **

**Chapter 8**

They had been tracking Merrick for the better half of the week since Enea caught sight of him in the town in France. So far it seemed that he was heading up north towards Switzerland, though Enea wondered why. In the end he decided that perhaps Merrick was just trying to avoid being caught and wasn't necessarily taking notice of where he was headed.

The weather had taken a turn for the worst, the sunlight being covered by thick, dark cloud that continued to rain a fine mist, soaking everything slowly and making it hard to see. Enea cursed his luck as he shifted around the edges of a forest, trying to make sense of the tracks he could only just see. He heard one of the two Exorcists with him growl softly, annoyed that they were caught out in the rain, tracking someone who he didn't believe existed for the most part. Enea tried to ignore the nagging feeling that everything was just a dream, but since there was no proof that Merrick was dead, or alive, he continued, and after all, there was no faking tracks, even if they were being washed away by the rain.

"Anything?" Allen asked softly, coming up behind Enea and looking over his shoulder. Enea sighed softly, running a hand through his hair and trying to stop it from sticking to his face.

"Not much, it looks as though he was here perhaps a day ago, I don't know, the rain is making it hard to tell how old the tracks are" Enea growled, standing upright. "It appears that he's still heading in this direction though, so we're on the right track at least"

"We should find somewhere covered to rest"

"It's probably safer to continue on until the next town, the rain might be a shield against any potential enemies, but I'm not willing to risk being found by a wolf or something of similar nature" Enea stated. Allen hummed softly, he was exhausted, they all were, but Enea didn't want to give up, not when he was sure that they were so close.

In the end they decided to rest, finding shelter by the road hidden underneath a thick canopy of trees. The three taking turns to sleep as much as they could before waking the next person to watch, the night passed uneventfully, and as the morning came they left without words. The rain was now heavier than before, but they continued on, Enea growing more and more frustrated as the rain continued to wash away the tracks. By the next afternoon the rain had finally stopped, but any evidence of Merrick had gone. They had lost him, again.

Despite their bad luck they continued on in silence, Enea keeping an eye out for anything that might indicate where Merrick could have gone. The two Exorcists doing the same thing, all three of them keeping as quiet as possible to ensure that they could hear as much as possible. Something didn't feel right, Enea didn't know what, but as he thought more on the situation he felt as though it was all too easy. If the Argentum wanted Merrick so badly they would not have sent Jay and Luka, despite Enea's weaknesses, he was still the second strongest of the Hunters. Sensibly, it should have been Icarus who was sent.

"Is everything alright Enea? You look worried about something" Allen asked, catching the ex-Hunters attention, Enea realising that he had stopped walking.

"Hmm? Everything's fine." Enea replied, though he knew from Allen's frown that the white haired boy didn't believe him, but his politeness prevented the other from asking further.

"I don't believe you." Kanda stated glaring towards Enea, "I don't know about the idiot beansprout but even I can tell that there's something fishy about all of this" Kanda continued, Enea sighed, looking up to the sky, grey clouds floating high above them.

"It's too easy" Enea stated, frowning deeply. "It's all too easy, they should have sent Icarus to fetch Merrick, yet they sent two weaklings. Why? Why not send out the strongest to ensure that everything went according to plan!" Enea growled out, hands clenching into fists. The Exorcists frowned in confusion as well.

"He's bloody playing with us!" Enea growled again.

"Why would he do that though? Doesn't he wish to destroy both the Exorcists and the Noah? So then getting Merrick as quick as possible would be the best plan right?" Allen asked. Enea didn't answer him. He may have known of the plan that the Father had, but he didn't know a lot of the reason behind it, nor why the man had done what he had done. Perhaps he had believed that Enea could come chasing after Merrick directly if he was left alive, to take Merrick and ensure Enea's return. Enea sighed, he had no idea if that was even accurate and so he pushed the thoughts from his mind for now. They started on their way again, Enea walking up ahead of the group, they were roughly half a day out from the next town and were due to arrive by the afternoon.

"Well, isn't this an interesting surprise, here I was thinking that it would take a while to find you, and yet here you are." A voice spoke from behind them, alerting the Exorcists and turning Enea's blood cold. They turned, but only Enea recognised the man who now stood behind them. Clad in blue, a bright yellow sash around his waist, a golden circle surrounding a smaller circle in the centre of it. The man was not smiling, instead he looked saddened, his words showing that he had hoped not to find Enea as early as he had. Enea caught the sound of Kanda's sword being taken from its sheath, Allen himself activating his weapon, they recognised the uniform they knew the nature of the man standing in front of them.

"Icarus. So they've finally sent you have they?" Enea stated softly, looking to the man carefully, ensuring to watch his every move. The man before him shrugged softly, placing his hands in his pockets and looking to Enea carefully.

"Seems so" He replied simply. Icarus disappeared suddenly, reappearing in a flash of light beside Enea. "I would run if I were you Enea." He whispered swinging around to attack Enea who responded just as fast parrying the attack and moving away from the other and keeping his distance. Icarus' long range attacks may be as strong as his close range attacks, but they were easier to avoid. Icarus sighed, turning to Enea and moving to attack him again, this time moving a lot faster than he had been, Enea thankfully able to keep up with the attacks.

Somewhere along the line he lost his footing and Icarus was able to land a blow to him, sending Enea back into the road. Enea groaned in pain as the dust and dirt settled around him, he vaguely heard what sounded like Allen calling out his name but he barely registered it as Icarus appeared before him, bringing his fist down towards Enea. Enea rolled to avoid the punch, Icarus' fist slamming into the ground with a powerful force, delaying the other and allowing Enea to kick the other away forcefully, pushing him back enough to allow Enea to stand. He was only just able to avoid the next attack and was thankful that Allen had stepped in, though the other didn't stand much against Icarus as the much taller and larger man tossed away the Exorcist with ease, completely disregarding the attack.

"Hmm, Octavia said you were rather weak, I'm surprised you're actually managing to stand your ground as much as you are" Icarus stated, dodging the attack sent by Kanda and kicking him in the abdomen. "You two stay out of it. Your time to fight will come later" He stated, briefly turning to them, before retuning his gaze to Enea.

"She caught me at a bad time" Enea replied, bracing himself for the next attack. "And if you're here to kill me you bastard get it over and done with, I know you're stronger than this!"

With that, the fight that had been started moved a lot quicker. Icarus stopped holding back, he had hoped that perhaps Enea would run, he hoped that he would escape so that Icarus could justify him getting away. However it wasn't the first time that he had tried that and that Enea had remained, urging him to fight properly, despite the obvious fact that it could quite possibly lead to his death. Icarus attacked Enea ruthlessly, using his knowledge of martial arts as opposed to his abilities, though despite this, Enea stood no chance and soon his reactions were slowing and he was unable to block as many of Icarus' attacks.

"Enea give up, just run damn it" Icarus pleaded, Enea didn't seem to be listening to him, the other kneeling on the ground, his body no longer able to support him, breathing heavily. He was far from close to death, but the places where Icarus had hit him ensured that he wouldn't be able to move that well. The Exorcists were unable to do anything, Icarus had parried them off a few times, and both realised that the other was a fair bit stronger than they anticipated.

"I'll run, but only ever when Merrick is by my side" Enea replied softly, almost inaudible. "But I won't give up, not when, if I die, Merrick will be unsafe." He continued.

"You'll die anyway if you continue! Enea you stand no chance against me and you know that!" Icarus growled, watching as the other staggered to his feet, he caught the sight of a grin, though he knew not the nature of it.

"I know." Came the reply, Enea running to attack him, Icarus shifted into a defensive position, but the attack never came.

Before him stood a pale, and much smaller figure, dark brown hair messy and covered in bits of twig and leaves reaching to his shoulders. His clothes for the most part were tattered and quite obviously worn, caked in mud from the previous rain. Icarus stared blankly as he realised that the figure that had arrived was holding Enea back, Enea no longer showing any intentions of attacking. Instead, he looked surprised, his dark eyes wide and staring blankly at the figure in front of him.

It was Merrick.

"Merrick" Enea whispered, stepping back a bit, he hadn't realised the other was there and had instead hit him as opposed to Icarus, though Merrick showed no signs of looking to be in pain from the attack. Watching Enea only with sadness and relief.

"Enea! I thought you were dead!" Merrick exclaimed, stepping closer to Enea. Icarus swore under his breath, out of all times for Merrick to appear he thought in annoyance. The sound caught Merrick's attention and he turned, taking in Icarus' form and paling, stepping back slightly and moving so that he was in front of Enea who appeared to be struggling to stand again, the adrenaline gone from his body.

"It has been a long time, you've grown a lot since I've seen you, Merrick" Icarus said, smiling softly, though he could sense that the other didn't trust him. He didn't blame him. Icarus was starting to doubt himself. "You should have remained hidden." Icarus sighed, the smiling falling from his face, replaced with a soft frown as he advanced on the two.

"I won't let you kill him again" Merrick stated, stepping closer to Enea. Icarus pausing in his step, Enea looked fearful, not from the statement, but for the simple fact that Merrick was standing in the way of Icarus and himself. He caught the look of conflict on Icarus' face, it was the same look that Icarus had pulled when they fought the first time, but the conflict was whether he should kill Enea or let him go. For a moment nothing happened, Icarus was left battling his thoughts while Merrick stood before Enea, watching the blonde before them carefully. He didn't know what Enea knew about the situation, and as far as he was concerned Icarus was a threat. Before either could respond, Icarus disappeared, reappearing in the space between Merrick and Enea. Enea froze as he felt something warm trickle down his waist, eyes flickering down to the wound caused by the ray of light that Icarus had just shot through him.

"I promised that I would keep Merrick safe, did I not? Please, forgive me for what I am going to do" Icarus whispered to Enea's ear, catching the other as he collapsed, he had unknowingly to the ex-hunter used an anaesthetic to knock him out, he needed Enea alive. He carefully dodged the attack that Merrick threw at him, taking Enea with him so not to let him fall.

"It is time I take this traitor to meet his punishment, do not try to stop me, it will only result in you being killed." Icarus warned, lifting up Enea carefully though the wound he had given him was only enough to distract him from the sleeping draught he had injected the other with he still ensured not to make it worse. He watched as Merrick stood helpless, unable to help his brother, Icarus gave him a sincere look before disappearing from their sight.


	9. Chapter 9

**So quite possibly the shortest chapter in the history of short chapters XD (i again had to re-upload the damned thing -.-) **

**This chapter focuses only on the Argentum Organisation, though the next chapters the Exorcists and Noah shall be returning~!**

**Chapter 9**

Enea struggled against the confines around his wrists, he had woken some time ago in a dark, cold, stone room that he could only guess was a dungeon of sorts, his arms chained to the wall so that his back was against the cold stone and he was standing up. It was a rather uncomfortable position and even if adjusted his position slightly it was still uncomfortable. He sighed softly, he had tried at one point when he first woke up to unpick the locks, or at least try to get the chains to tear apart, but he was met with the horrible realisation that the chains keeping him there weren't metal. Rendering his abilities useless.

A noise caught his attention and Enea looked up, the door to his cell opening up slowly and another walking in. It was dark, but it didn't take much to know who it was who had entered. Neither spoke, Enea noticing the tray of simple food that the other held in his hands as the door shut with a soft thud then click as the locks fell into place. Enea almost glaring at Icarus as he approached silently, placing the tray of food on the table left of him and sighing softly, turning to face Enea.

"Did you want me to…?"

"No, I can feed myself" Enea stated before Icarus could finish. The other man sighed again, stepping over so that he was face to face with him, clear blue looking into the slightly clouded brown eyes of the ex-Hunter.

"You know that if you try to escape…" Icarus didn't finish, he didn't particularly want to finish that sentence.

"You don't think I'm not aware of that." Enea replied sharply, there was no reply, but the next minute his arms were released from the shackles and he braced himself for the fall that was to come however finding Icarus catching him quickly before then. Enea quickly pushed the other away, stretching and rolling his arms to ease off the pain from the awkward position and walking over to the plate of food, looking to it in disdain.

"I'm sorry, I would have brought more, but Father's watching me more than usual, it's remarkable he even let me come in here to give it to you" Icarus stated, moving so that he was standing with his back against the door, effectively blocking the only escape route should Enea try to escape. Enea looked to him quietly out of the corner of his eye, picking up the piece of bread accompanying the bowl of soup provided, tearing it up before throwing it into the bowl. He ate in silence, ignoring the bland taste of the food he was eating, finishing with a sigh and pushing the tray away from him.

"Why?" Enea asked. It was simple, but it was enough for Icarus to understand the question that Enea wanted to ask, he knew that 'he' would be listening.

"Because it was the only way" Icarus replied, equally aware that they couldn't have a private conversation. Enea wanted to reply, he wanted to argue, to berate Icarus on his actions and tell the other that if he had joined them in the start they wouldn't have been in this position. He wanted so badly to just tell the other his thoughts, but if he did it would just end up causing more problems. It was obvious from Icarus' words that Merrick hadn't been caught, even though he had revealed himself during their fight. Icarus deliberately wasn't speaking his mind because of that fact, because, he knew that with Enea here, Merrick was safe for the meantime. He just hoped that the other returned to running and didn't go with the Order. The Argentum had their spies within the Order, it wouldn't take long for news to reach them that Merrick had been found by the Exorcists, then hell would break loose. Icarus looked to Enea, the ex-hunter sitting on the chair to the small table of his room staring at the wall, a frown set into his face. He didn't move, the bruises from their fight left deep purple marks on his otherwise tanned skin, his arms hanging limp by his side possibly still aching from the position they had been in. Icarus just let him sit there for a while, he was in no rush for the moment and Enea needed time for his body to relax slightly, what was going to happen in the next few days was going to put more strain on his body than anything else.

"You should try and rest up a bit, I won't tie you up again, but you'll unfortunately have to sleep on the floor, I can bring some blankets for you if you want." Icarus stated, taking the tray from in front of Enea and breaking the other from whatever thoughts he was having.

"No. I've had worse than this, I'll manage." Enea replied, returning to looking at the wall in front of him, Icarus looked to him sadly but the look went unnoticed as he exited the room, locking the door behind him quietly. Icarus returned back upstairs to the main part of the house just as one of the maids called him, stating that dinner was being served. He nodded, passing the tray he had taken down to Enea to her and headed towards the dining hall, letting any emotions fall from his face.

He entered into the large hall, taking in the eight other forms of the Hunters and the single form of the Father at the head of the table. All were dressed in their uniforms, the Father dressed in a simple black suit paired with a blue shirt, grey hair cleanly tied back so that it wasn't in his face. The man grinned softly, motioning for Icarus to take a seat in the place beside him, the seat opposite was left vacant. The food was brought out and for a long time they only ate in silence, none having much to speak about aside for their failed mission on trying to recover Merrick or their fights with the Noah and Exorcists. When they had all finished, the Father sighed, waiting for the plates to be cleared by the few servants of the household and the servants leaving the room so that he would be able to speak to them in private.

"It's nice of you all to join me for dinner" He said softly, smiling to each of them. "We are finally able to complete the final phase of our plan, yes it is true that we have not been able to locate Merrick, but all is not lost. Icarus, my dear boy, has located and brought back the one who had allowed for Merrick's creation to occur oh so many years ago" The Father continued, a few of the Hunters looked to each other in confusion.

"The one who had allowed for Merrick to be created? But wasn't Merrick the first one?" Dmitri asked, frowning slightly. The Father grinned, leaning back into his chair slightly.

"It is true that Merrick is the first one as far as the Iscariots are concerned, but he is not the first successfully created human of the Argentum organisation."

"Who is the first then?" Persephone asked, seemingly rather intrigued by the idea, she always had an interest in the more scientific side of the Argentum Organisation. The grin on the Father grew slightly and he shifted again, away from the back of his chair to rest his elbows on the table, clasping his hands together and resting his head on top of them.

"You all know him very well, for many years he sat alongside you, and worked with you." The Father responded, grinning as they realised just who he had been talking about.

"Enea?!" Persephone exclaimed, eyes wider than before.

"Yes, Enea. Enea is the first successful creation of the Argentum Organisation, and within him carries the true key to re-create the Iscariot's. Merrick may be more accurate in producing the Iscariot's in such a way that they are powerful enough to overcome any obstacle but Enea is the key that allows them to survive, without him the entire operation doesn't work."

"So, when we were sent to get Merrick…?" Luka stated slowly

"Ideally I was aiming for Merrick to be taken and for Enea to return out of his free will, even if it was just to take Merrick back. Though things did't go as I planned, yet, perhaps for the better. Merrick's powers, though strong pose a dangerous strain on his body if used too much, with Enea I have the ability to re-create more durable Iscariot's, that will be able to withstand such powers"

"So what do we do if we find Merrick?" Persephone asked.

"Leave him. He is of no consequence for the meantime. Since Enea being taken is most likely unknown to him, he will continue to run. For now, we focus on the next step in our plan. The Iscariot's are almost entirely ready, once the key within Enea's blood is administered they will be woken, all thirty of them. The Noah and the Exorcists shall fall, and we shall have our salvation!" The Father stated, grinning softly into his hands. the room fell into silence and shortly after the Hunters except Icarus left, returning to their respective rooms.

"Icarus, have Enea brought to the lab, we have much to do and very little time to do it. Ensure that he is unconscious, I can't have him in distress when I start, and I would rather not see him in pain, as the treatments will surely cause." The Father sighed, standing quietly from his chair, the grin slipping into a smirk. Icarus briefly wondered if the man even held any concern for Enea's wellbeing at all but was unable to dwell too much on it as he returned to the cell where Enea was currently held.


	10. Chapter 10

**So this chapter actually ended up shorter than i was expecting... but at least its not as short as the last one... **

**And this is starting to finally come to a close!~ Woo... I bet you weren't all expecting what happened last chapter :P now you all understand how Merrick and Enea are brothers! **

**Anyway... onto the story!~ **

**Chapter 10 **

The Black Order was ablaze. The walls crumbling from the damage caused by the sudden explosion, rubble covering the land in front of the now destroyed building. A large fire ravaged around the building and within it, the Science team of the Black Order fighting to stop them, with very little luck. As they slowly managed to put one out another sparked up in a different place, making it almost useless to fight against the flames. The few Exorcists who had been in the Order were ordered to escape, the attack had been completely unexpected and they had been unable to prepare for it they were lucky that no one appeared to have been killed.

Allen, Kanda and Lavi ran through the Ark, Allen leading them through a door and emerging at the Asian branch headquarters, coming to a halt not too far from the Ark door, breathing heavily. They had been forced to run, the Science team claiming that they were fine to take care of the burning building and that they should retreat to the Asian Branch for safety. Allen didn't like it, but after ensuring that the ones that had attacked the Order were all gotten rid of, or at least were no longer in the area, he agreed to go. Though something didn't feel right, and as he looked to both Lavi and Kanda the frowns on the two seemed to confirm his suspicions.

"You made it!" A voice spoke, Allen looking up and seeing Lenalee running up to them, looking quite relieved.

"Yeah, is everyone alright?" Allen asked, looking around and noticing that all of the Exorcists and Generals appeared to be all collected within the same room. Everyone was on edge. Lenalee nodded softly, looking around the group.

"Everyone is ok, though we're all worried. Apparently the European Branch wasn't the only one to be attacked" Lenalee explained, Allen frowned softly he looked to the corner of the room, noticing the thin form of Merrick seated away from the rest of them. A sad look was in his eyes as he looked to the ground beneath him, the clothes he had been given by Komui hanging loosely off his shoulders, revealing the pale skin underneath. Quietly bidding his leave he walked over to the other, sitting down beside him quietly until Merrick noticed that he was even there.

"You alright?" Allen asked softly as the others mismatched eyes looked at him.

"I'm fine" Merrick whispered softly, smiling to reassure the white haired boy, despite feeling the least bit okay. He was worried, he didn't understand why Enea was taken, it was him the Argentum had wanted, yet Icarus took Enea instead. Merrick was at a loss, he didn't know what to do. Sure he knew how to fight, but what good would that do against all nine Hunters and thirty Iscariot, and who was to say that Enea was even alive any more.

"He'll be alright Merrick, no matter what the Order says, we'll find Enea, and we'll stop the Argentum" Allen reassured him, smiling again. Merrick wondered how it was that he could remain so optimistic in such times, but it made him feel a little better. Merrick nodding softly and smiling back, a little more genuinely than before to the white haired boy. They fell into a companionable silence.

Time passed slowly, the Exorcists were given rooms for them to sleep in for the time being with the European Branch destroyed they had to remain at the Asian branch until a new accommodation in Europe could be established. A few of the European Branch chief officers also came to the Asian branch including Komui who was relieved for Lenalee's (and others) safety. Merrick kept mostly to himself, Baldr keeping close to him, comforting him whenever Merrick needed it. Weeks went by uneventfully, the Noah had been quiet and since the attack on the Black Order's European branch and it seemed that the Argentum had also gone quiet. All they could do was wait, but as the waiting continued, everyone started becoming more concerned, many couldn't sleep, and often most of the staff in the Order remained wide awake even into the early hours of the morning.

Almost a month after the unexpected attack the silence was finally broken, a message had been sent by the Argentum Organisation, and it was clear that it was the final step to whatever the Argentum had been planning.

It had been Lenalee who found it, she had been unable to sleep for a long time, tossing and turning in her bed before finally giving up and walking out of her room, exploring the halls of the Order as something to keep her mind off her concerns. She had reached the entrance when a large crash echoed through the hall and she spun around in fear, though she found nothing there at first. On second view however she caught sight of the message that had been written on the walls in what appeared to be blood, and screamed. Her scream had amazingly woken a few of the others within the Order, or alerted the few who couldn't sleep like her. When others saw the message, the alarm was set, the Order was suddenly full of life.

Lavi looked at the message written carefully, the words 'The time has come to die for your salvation' had been written in blood. No body had been found leading to Lavi wondering just whose blood it was and where the body was, there was too much there for whoever's was used, not to be dead.

"Frightening isn't it" A soft voice spoke from behind him, Lavi half turned to find Merrick standing behind him, looking at the wall with a frown as others ran about behind them. A few were trying to find the body that the blood belonged to, others weren't sure what to do and were panicking, unsure if the Order was going to be directly attacked like the other Branches or whether they were supposed to go to some other battlefield to fight.

"Is a bit." Lavi replied, turning back to the wall, he wondered how it was written, with so many people unable to sleep it would have been hard to get in and out of the Order without being noticed.

"He'll be moving soon, you should probably ready yourself for war, because he won't only be bringing the Iscariot when he comes" Merrick replied softly, Lavi turned back to ask him what he meant but the boy had turned to walk away, Lavi only just catching the fearful look in the his eyes.

…

There was a cool breeze just north of the Asian Branch of the Black Order, morning was fast approaching, lighting the world in reds and oranges. A fitting colour for the bloodshed that would soon be upon them. The Father grinned, from his place on the top of a hill, watching down at the Black Order beneath him. Soon the Noah would arrive, and then, he would finally be able to destroy the two sides of the war and bring about Salvation for the entire Human race. No more would the Human race have to suffer the consequences of a hidden war, the church and all their misdeeds will be destroyed, and with them, their opposition, the Noah, who had lead them to become so corrupt with their own ideals of salvation and protection that they failed to see the true problem. Indeed both sides were as bad as the other, yet neither were open enough to see it.

The sound of feet suddenly appearing caught his attention and he turned partially to find Icarus walking over to him, hair tied back out of his face and blue eyes looking towards the Black Order. He wore his usual Hunter's jacket, the sleeveless jacket tied tightly around his waist however underneath the blue shirt was replaced with a thick black leather shirt that hugged his fame tightly, gauntlets replacing his usual gloves. He looked ready to fight, but the Father knew that Icarus would prefer to be somewhere else than in the middle of a war. He had been trained to kill and to destroy any who opposed him and those who he had been ordered to kill, but the man himself preferred the more simple things in life and very often attempted to avoid conflict as often as he could.

"How long until the Noah arrive?" the Father asked, turning back down to look at the Black Order.

"Soon." Came the only reply and the Father grinned.

"Get the Iscariot and the Hunters into position, we can't have our presence known until the last minute"

"What about the one that can read minds?"

"Claudia and Elliot have that covered already. The Noah know we are here, but they do not know precisely where. That is our advantage, we want the war between the Noah and the Exorcists to affect the outcomes before we step in and destroy them both." The Father explained. Icarus nodding softly and suddenly disappearing, appearing not too far from the Black Order itself where the newly created Iscariot's and the Hunters were waiting.

Icarus cast an eye over the group, looking to the Iscariot's who were all dressed head to toe in silver clothing similar to what the Japanese ninjutsu warriors wear (the Father had an ironic sense of humour it seemed and Icarus was sure that he had planned this outfit for a long time) their faces obscured by their masks. His eyes then glanced over the eight Hunters, all of them waiting impatiently for the fight that was going to happen. Sighing softly to himself he stepped up and ordered each of the Hunters to their positions. Each Hunter was accompanied by an Iscariot, the lowest were accompanied by only two Iscariot's. The fifth to eighth Hunters were accompanied by four Iscariot while Icarus himself was accompanied by the last six. Once they had taken their positions they were forced to wait for the Noah to arrive before they could begin the conclusion to the seven thousand year old war.

It didn't take long for the Noah to arrive. Large empty spaces opening up in the sky and the ground, Akuma arriving through the portals silently. The Noah were also there, and from his position he could tell that the Noah did not know yet their position. The sounds of sirens erupted in the air, breaking the silence as the Black Order called for an offence, they had seen the Noah and had assumed that they were there to attack them. So far everything was going as planned. It didn't take long for the battle between the two groups to begin, and the sounds of battle could then be heard over the sirens of the Black Order.

The Father watched from his place atop the hill, looking down on the battle field he had orchestrated. From his position he could see all three sides and he grinned, a laugh escaping his lips which quickly grew into hysterics, he didn't care if he was heard. Everything was going according to plan, ceasing his laughter he threw his left arm into the air, pausing and ensuring that he could be seen by all of the Argentum that was present in the area. With a smooth movement he brought it down, signalling for the eight groups to disperse. Almost immediately the battlefield ignited in flame and the Akuma were destroyed, some crushed under the gravity that suddenly befell them, others in an inferno caused by spontaneous combustion. Now it was time for salvation to begin. The agents of God had been caught, the thirty pieces of silver paid, now it was the crucifixion, only this time there would be no rebirth.

Icarus motioned for the Iscariot to disperse, watching as the Hunters joined in on the fight from where he was hidden. Though the Iscariot were not as powerful as they could have been, they were far more durable, and they still caused considerable damage to those they attacked, tearing through Akuma easily to get to the Noah and Exorcists. He watched for a short while before looking to where he knew the Father was watching, ensuring that he couldn't be seen before suddenly disappearing from the entire battlefield. There was one person missing from the war that Icarus wanted to ensure was present. He just hoped the other trusted him enough to go along with the plan that Icarus had spent the last five years orchestrating from underneath the Organisation's nose.

**And the battle has begun!~ **


	11. Chapter 11

**The final battle! YAY~! ... Also M rated-ish... mostly because of horrible ways of dying... (also sorry for any bad writing in this chapter, i'm not that good at battle scenes)**

**Anyway enjoy!~ **

**Chapter 11**

Enea had woken some time ago, the world around him was dim and there was no sound. It honestly frightened him. He was used to noise, even in the past few days as he was subjected to all manner of things that he'd rather forget, there was noise. He sighed softly, straining against the leather braces that kept him held tightly against the bed he was on. Everyone he assumed had left, meaning that he had absolutely no way of getting out of his confines, and his arms were starting to go numb from the position they were in. He frowned at the ceiling, he had to help Merrick, he couldn't care about the Noah or the Exorcists, as far as he was concerned if they were gone the world would be quieter, but Merrick was his brother, he wasn't about to let him be consumed by the harshness that was war and death.

Enea struggled more against his confines, trying desperately to tear his arms from them. He had considered the possibility of the Father accidentally leaving mercury close enough for Enea to take control of, but the possibility rather quickly reached zero. In the end he gave up, letting his body relax into the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The sound of running feet caught his attention and he frowned, lifting his head up to look towards the door of the room he was in (thankful that he was positioned so that he could see the door). It wasn't long until the feet reached the entrance, flinging the door open with a crash that would have alerted everyone in the building, if there was anyone to alert. Enea stared, stunned, at the man who had crashed through the room, currently resting against the door frame, breathing heavily. He obviously had been running for a long time. There was only silence until the other stood up straight, looking around the room quickly before blue eyes locking with brown.

"I thought you were off killing Noah and Exorcists, Icarus." Enea stated, breaking the long silence between them and letting his head fall back onto the bed. The other didn't reply, merely walking over to where Enea was lying with a quick step, Enea catching the urgency in the man's actions. He frowned, wondering what Icarus was up to.

"Do you trust me?" Icarus asked softly, almost whispering the words, he was kneelt beside Enea's bed, watching him carefully.

"What kind of a question is that?" Enea replied sourly.

"This is no time for your stubbornness Enea, do you trust me?" Icarus stated.

"What's going on?"

"Answer the question!"

"Not until you bloody well answer mine!" Enea growled back, startling the other briefly before he turned away.

"Five years ago you told me to come with you and I declined. That was my first mistake, I shouldn't have let you go I shouldn't have done what I did to you, but that's gone, I can't change time, so I'm doing the next best thing" Icarus stated, he gave up with trying to get an answer from Enea, the other wasn't going to tell him outright what he thought no matter how hard he tried. Instead he turned to the leather braces keeping Enea from moving, working the leather loose of the knot and releasing Enea's wrist. He quickly undid the other arm before undoing Enea's legs which had also been tied. Enea sighed as he was finally able to move, sitting upright and almost falling back down, his head swimming from the quick movement. He felt Icarus' hand on his shoulder, steadying him before the man quickly pulled it away, walking back around the bed and disappearing from the room, telling Enea to stay. Enea only partially complied, standing and walking around the room, his limbs feeling weak and his head light, thought he promptly ignored it. When Icarus returned he carried various pieces of food and a glass of water, handing them to Enea who ate in silence. As he ate Icarus disappeared again, reappearing with black pants, boots and a tight vest like shirt that Enea was used to wearing before he left the organisation.

"Get changed, we don't have much time" Icarus stated, handing the clothes to Enea as he finished eating.

"Icarus what are you planning?" Enea asked, frowning slightly, he motioned for Icarus to turn around, the other giving him a strange look before complying, allowing Enea some privacy as he changed.

"The war between the Noah, Exorcists and the Argentum has begun. I left shortly after the Argentum became involved, I don't know what's happened in the time I've been gone, but we need to get back quickly if we're to stop all of this"

"Stop all of what? The Iscariot were created weren't they? The Exorcist and Noah stand no chance, even if it was my blood that he used instead of Merricks" Enea stated, turning to sit on the bed as he pulled on the boots that he had been given.

"You know he wanted your blood for the Iscariot more than Merrick's right?" Icarus stated, Enea froze, turning to look at Icarus slowly. "Look, I know neither of us care about either the Exorcists or Noah, but we have to stop Father, once the Exorcists and Noah are destroyed he won't stop there. He plans on destroying everything, anyone and everyone associated with either groups, that's why the Iscariot had to be created to be able to withstand their abilities. He's not bringing about salvation, he's bringing about extermination"

"Isn't that what the Noah plan on doing anyway?"

"Yes, but that's beside the point. The point of the Iscariot were to destroy the two sides and bring an end to the war, end, finite, the human race would then be able to go about its life as it would normally without the threat of the war."

"But the Father wants to take it that step further, finish what the Noah were already planning to do, but the other way around" Enea continued, suddenly getting an idea of where Icarus was going with his explanation.

"He wants to destroy all that associate themselves with God." Icarus stated.

"That's a lot of people"

"Yes. And that's why we have to stop him"

"And how do you plan on doing that hmm?" Enea asked, tilting his head softly. There was a shadow of a grin on Icarus' face, he had been planning this for a while.

"Shall we prove to him, the reason why we're the most dangerous of the Hunters to work together?" Icarus stated, Enea catching on clearly to what the other had in mind.

"Yeah, sure, why not. Got nothing to lose, worlds going to hell, I'm sick of being a test subject, and with the Father gone we can finally stop running." Enea sighed, standing up from the bed and stretching slightly. He felt more revived after the food, though as they left he still ducked into the kitchen and grabbed a few more pieces of fruit, eating it as he searched for the Argentum's supply of mercury.

With his weapon of choice now on him, and enough energy to actually keep him upright as he fought, the two were finally ready to leave.

"I'm sorry, but there's only one way we can get to the battlefield from here, just don't hit me for it" Icarus stated, grabbing Enea's arm tightly. They disappeared from view, much as what Icarus had done before hand. Icarus returning to the battlefield at the Black Order's Asian branch.

…

Explosions shook the earth and gunfire shattered it, the war between the Noah and the Exorcists had taken a turn for the worst as the Argentum organisation stepped into the midst. The Iscariot had cut through several of the Noah and just as many of the Exorcists. But the Noah and Exorcists had managed to hold their own against the Argentum. Three of the Hunters and ten Iscariot had been destroyed in the fight however most of the Iscariot destroyed themselves from the dangerous amount of power they were using to overpower the Noah and the Exorcists. Akuma lied scattered around the battlefield, some still stood, but barely any reappeared through the portals that the Noah had opened.

It felt as though the war between them had been going on for days, when really it had only been going for a few hours. Lavi, was exhausted and he dodged an oncoming attack from a silver blur, swinging his hammer into it and then returning it as a post to lean on. He was thankful that the Noah were busy enough trying to keep the other Iscariot and Hunters at bay not to take notice of the Exorcists. He caught sight of Allen's crown clown flying through the air, the white haired exorcist parrying with one of the Hunters, a woman with the ability to shift her body into distorted shapes. She was quick, but thankfully Allen was just a little faster, and despite his exhaustion he managed to tear away the large bone like claw that her arm was distorted into. The Hunter screamed in pain, Allen finishing the attack, effectively killing her, a shadowed expression of sadness on his face as her body slumped to the ground. Her death had caught the attention of a few nearby Iscariot and Allen was suddenly overwhelmed by the created humans. Lavi wasted no time, running to aid the other Exorcist, letting his hammer knock into a few of them as Allen knocked them off and cut them down.

"Thanks for that" Allen breathed heavily, resting his hands on his knees for a bit as he tried to keep himself upright. They were all exhausted, and Lavi just hoped that they could last, though that was starting to look grim.

"There's still so many of them" Allen breathed out, frowning as he took in the silver forms of the Iscariot and the blue of the Hunters. There was currently four Hunters killed, though that still left another five.

"There's only four hunters, where's the fifth?" Lavi frowned, looking around the area. Currently he could only see four Hunters, two were off fighting with a few of the Noah, from what he could see they were Road and Tyki, the other two up against the Generals Cross and Teidoll. Allen could only shake his head in response. He caught sight of what looked like one of the Iscariot heading towards them and was about to call out to the other when a bright flash of light cut through the air. Sending the world into blinding brightness and momentarily dazzling all who were on the battlefield.

When his eyes cleared both Allen and Lavi stared in shock at the battlefield in front of them. Where there were the dead bodies of the Akuma and the debris from the Asian branch there was now nothing. A thick strip had been entirely cleared away, leaving a long deep crater in the centre of the battlefield. The destruction had caught the attention of anyone who was nearby, the sounds of the battlefield stopping briefly as the cause of the destruction suddenly appeared. In the centre of the crater stood two forms, one Lavi instantly recognised as Enea, the man dressed in black pants and shirt, the other was dressed in a Hunters uniform, a golden sash across his stomach.

Enea bent over double, trying to steady himself from the effects of Icarus' abilities. He hated the feeling of being pulled apart then put back together and he felt as though he was about to empty the contents of his stomach, it was only by sheer will power that he didn't. He vaguely noticed Icarus standing nearby, looking as though he wasn't sure if he should let Enea recover on his own or see if the other was alright. Finally the feeling subsided and he was able to see what was going on Enea looking around the battlefield and taking in the countless dead, though most appeared to be Akuma. To the side he noticed both Allen and Lavi, staring towards Icarus and himself with surprise and confusion, he sighed softly, moving swiftly until he reached beside them, effectively startling both Exorcists, the mercury floating around him as it followed him, awaiting his command.

"It's good to see that you two are alive and well" Enea stated, smiling softly towards them. The Icarus appearing just behind him, taking hold of one of the Iscariot as it raced towards them and snapping its neck with ease. Enea paid no mind to it, but Lavi and Allen stared blankly at the Hunter, why was a Hunter destroying one of its own?

"Where's Merrick?" Enea asked, breaking the two Exorcists out of their thoughts, the smile completely gone from his face.

"He's somewhere around the battlefield, we had tried to get him in the Ark with the rest of the Order's science team but he wouldn't stay, I believe he's with Lenalee" Allen explained quickly. A frightened look crossed Enea's features and he looked as though he was going to head in the direction that Allen had pointed towards but he was stopped suddenly by the other Hunter behind him.

"Enea, we'll deal with Merrick's safety later, we have more important things to do that we must hurry to complete or else we'll miss our chance." Icarus warned, Enea stepping back slightly, the worried look still on his face.

"Fine. But if he ends up dead I'll make sure you can never walk again!" Enea stated, though his threat didn't seem to hold any form of hatred towards the man. The two were about to leave when something caught their attention. The battle had stopped suddenly yet again, the destruction Icarus had caused had called attention to the man who had been watching on the hill. Now he stood in the centre of the battlefield, the Father, the leader of the Argentum Organisation. Surrounding him, the four surviving Hunters and the seventeen Iscariot. He looked towards Enea and the other Hunter with hate filled eyes though a malicious grin was set onto his features.

"So you finally arrive, Enea, Icarus." The man spoke "I should have known that you would betray me as well Icarus, your relationship with Enea was too close for it not to be a possibility. But even if you try, you won't win. This war is almost at a close, salvation is almost at hand, and even if I have to destroy the two of you I will still be able to complete the Iscariot Salvation" the man continued, laughing to himself. Lavi looked to the three groups that were all situated on the battlefield, the Argentum stood in the centre of the crater, the remaining Exorcists, gathered nearby where Lavi and Allen were standing on the other side of the crater were the remaining Noah. There was a brief moment of silence before Icarus and Enea stepped forward, the mercury around Enea no longer visible and Lavi wondering just where it went.

"I couldn't care less about this war, or who won" Icarus stated, shrugging softly. "I doubt Enea could care either, to be truthfully honest with you. But whether you or either the Exorcists or Noah win this war it won't matter because you won't be alive to see it" he continued, glancing towards Enea who stood not too far away from him. None of the Argentum had yet noticed the metallic substance sliding towards them and for that both Enea and Icarus were grateful.

"What are you talking about Icarus?" The Father asked the grin no longer gracing his features and his dark eyes glaring towards the two betrayers with more hatred. It was Icarus' turn to grin, though he did not answer the man straight away, he needed to give Enea enough time to get the mercury in range.

"Icarus! Speak you bastard!" the man roared, pushing through the protection of the Hunters and Iscariot and marching towards Icarus. The action was the worst possible thing he could do. As he stepped closer to Icarus he closed the distance between him and the toxic metal and in a flash the droplets of mercury that had been making their way towards him swarmed together forming a large wolf like beast in front of the Argentum leader. The Father stopped, staring up at bewilderment to the metallic creature as it launched forward towards him dissipating into a silvery cloud before him and entering his system through the air he breathed. A few of the Hunters cried out, Octavia the first to move as she ran towards them, however Icarus was quicker than the woman of lightning and before she could reach him a flash of light tore through her body and she fell limp. All the while the Father was slowly invaded by the cloud of the metal that Enea was controlling, the metal invading his lungs before making its way into his circulatory system. Normally mercury poisoning was slow, but Enea accelerated it, ensuring that the Father's lungs and blood were saturated with the substance. He ignored the screams of pain as the mercury poisoned his mind and his body until Icarus, sick of all the noise shot a clear hole through the centre of his head. The Father was dead, though his body remained upright until Enea removed all of the metal from his body.

Silence followed, the remaining Hunters didn't dare attack, with both Icarus and Enea now against them, even if Enea was weaker than he originally was, they stood no chance. The Exorcists and Noah all stood in bewilderment, both sides unsure what had just happened and neither sure where to go from there. Enea swayed slightly from the strain on his body, but he ignored it as he stepped forward, walking towards the body as the mercury collected at his feet. He gathered it beside him again, re-creating the large wolf like form and turned his gaze towards the remaining Iscariot. He was going to ensure that not only could they not be re-created, but he was going to ensure that the other Hunters couldn't in any way use them to continue the Father's plan. However before he could order the metallic wolf to attack he was stopped by a smaller frame crashing into him, causing him to temporarily lose balance before he was able to correct himself. He looked down to see Merrick wrapped around his waist, much like what he had before Enea had been taken to the Argentum.

"That's enough Enea!" He said, words muffled through Enea's shirt, though it was still clear enough to understand. "You promised me when we left that no one would have to die, that we would be safe from that! You promised!" he continued yelling into his shirt so that even the others in the area could hear him. Enea stood in stunned silence, the mercury wavering before falling from the form he had created creating a pool of silver at his feet. As Merrick prevented Enea from attacking the remainder of the Argentum, the Noah who remained from the war begun to retreat, disappearing from the battlefield with a quiet threat of returning though that would most likely not be for a long time. The Noah had lost many of their kin, the Millennium Earl, Road, Tyki Mikk, Cyril Camelot and Wisely were all that remained. The Exorcists relaxed slightly, with the Noah gone they had one less problem to worry about. However the Hunters and the Iscariot were still a problem.

Enea turned to Icarus, the now ex-Hunter looking to him with a nod, and before anyone could react the Argentum that were still standing there disappeared in a flash of light. There was no sign of them, Icarus merely rubbing at his wrists slightly with a soft sigh.

"You may have promised not that no one would have to die, but I didn't. I guess you can say that, that is my payment for nearly killing you all those years ago." Icarus stated, grinning softly. The war was finally at an end, the Argentum was destroyed and though neither sides in the end were destroyed as the Father had initially planned, both Enea and Icarus felt the strange sense that perhaps they had reached their own salvation. Enea nodded his head lightly in acceptance of what the other had done, before prying himself away from Merrick. He hadn't gotten very far however before his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground, hissing in pain as he hit the rubble, now vaguely aware of the burning pain in his wrist. He saw Icarus running to his side, the other frowning with worry before the world seemed to go dark, he had overestimated how much strength he had, the events before arriving at the battlefield taking more of a toll on him than he expected.


	12. Final Chapter

**wow... So really really short chapter... BUT~! It's finally finished! I hope you have all enjoyed the story!~ And thank you all for actually taking the time to read this ^-^ **

**Chapter 12 - Final Chapter **

The day was warm and the sun bright, a nice day to introduce the beginning of spring. People bustled around the streets making their way to whatever their destinations were, passing by without any thought of the world or anyone else around them. Three months had passed since the war between the Noah, Exorcists and the Argentum Organisation at the Asian Branch of the Black Order, and everything had gone relatively back to how it was before the Argentum was already known. The Argentum had been destroyed, the rest of the Father's followers hunted down and convicted of their crimes. Their research destroyed, however it wasn't the Order who destroyed it, though from the crater left where the large southern France mansion had stood it was rather clear who had. The hidden war between the Noah and the Exorcists had slipped into a truce like state, though none knew just how long it would last. The Black Order, due to all of their headquarters being destroyed by the Argentum were forced to temporarily reside within the Vatican itself, resuming their roles almost instantly as they tended to the casualties of the war.

Merrick sat beside a small fountain in the centre of a small rose garden. Though a few people walked past him, he was alone, staring up to the clouds in the sky and basking in the sun. It had been a long three months since the conclusion of the war and if it wasn't for Enea and Icarus arriving when they did they would have all been killed by the Argentum. But even with Enea and Icarus' help the war still had taken a toll on everyone, including the two ex-Hunters. The Exorcists had lost a few of their numbers those not killed were still recovering, and though the Noah were also out of commission from the war the Black Order were pushing to get whoever was strong enough out and looking for as many pieces of Innocence before the Noah returned. Merrick knew from what he had heard that many of the Science division and Komui himself disagreed with the orders, but were unable to do much about it.

Footsteps approaching caught his attention and Merrick looked down from the sky to find Komui walking towards him, a serious look on the normally cheerful face that made Merrick's stomach churn slightly. The past few months Komui had been nothing but kind to Merrick, looking out for him while Enea was recovering in the hospital. Enea still hadn't woken, his body had been damaged long before his part in the war, and despite Enea appearing to be recovering from the wounds many of the Doctors feared for the worst. Without a word Komui sat down beside him, sighing softly and looking up to the sky much the same as what Merrick had been doing before. For a while they just sat in silence, Merrick waiting patiently for the man to talk.

"The Great Generals said they want you tested for Innocence compatibility. They believe that given your abilities as an Iscariot, you may be able to accommodate Innocence" Komui said softly, breaking the silence between them.

"What happens if I can?"

"You join the Black Order as an Exorcist and are part of the Order until you die or a killed in action" Komui replied, Merrick catching the sadness in his voice and his eyes.

"What about Enea? Will he be able to join too?" Merrick asked, Komui briefly looked to the boy before sighing heavily and leaning forward, resting his arms on his legs and staring at the ground with a slight frown on his features.

"I'm afraid Enea won't make it, he's too weak. The amount of strain he put on his body before and during the war was too much, his body systems are starting to fail. He's only just managing to keep himself alive, but I don't think he can push himself for very much longer." Komui explained, voice quiet, Merrick stared at the man in shock, tears welling up in his eyes, though he fought them down.

"What about Icarus, can't he do anything to…" Merrick begun, but found that he couldn't continue, Komui shook his head softly.

"I'm sorry Merrick, but Enea won't be able to survive this time. Icarus had told me all that he had been through leading up to them arriving on the battlefield and it's remarkable that he's still alive. Created human or not, there are still limits on the human body that can't be exceeded. I am sorry" Komui apologised softly, looking sadly to Merrick as the words weighed on the younger's mind. He could see that he was about to cry, and pulled the other into a hug, much like what he would do with Lenalee when she was younger. The action startled Merrick at first, but as he relaxed he finally broke, tears falling from his eyes and soft whimpers coming from him as he cried against Komui's chest.

They remained there for a while, even after Merrick had stopped crying, returning inside only when the sun was starting to set and the air became cooler. Komui ensured that Merrick would be alright, leaving the boy in the care of Lenalee as he attended to other business that he unfortunately had to do. Enea finally died a few days later, the death taking a toll on Merrick, Komui made sure to let him have some time alone before he would have to have his Innocence compatibility checked by Hevlaska though himself and a few of the Exorcists who were well enough, kept an eye on him in case anything happened. Icarus also disappeared shortly after Enea's death, none, not even Merrick knowing where he had gone, and even as they searched, there seemed to be no sign of the ex-Hunter.

Another month passed by and the European Branch was finally given its new home, many of the Exorcists had recovered well enough to be able to fight and were again sent on missions in search of Innocence and other's who could accommodate the substance. Merrick had joined them by that time as well, the boy turning out to be the host of the Innocence contained in Baldr, the reason why Merrick had been the only one to understand what the wolf was saying becoming clear. Though Komui had originally hoped that the boy would have his freedom when the events involving the Argentum had concluded, he was glad that Merrick had somewhere that he could call home with people who he could call friends or family.

Komui sighed, looking at the large amount of paper work that had managed to grow beside his desk. Even in a world where so many possibilities could occur and so many things happened, some things just never changed. And giving one quick sidewards glance to the others in the room, he spun around and quickly left before anyone else could catch him. He would deal with the paper work later. Perhaps he would go see how Jerry was liking his new kitchen.

Fin.

**Yeah... sort of a depressing chapter -sighs- i wasss thinking of doing two versions, but after writing this version i think i prefer this version to be honest, the other one doesn't feel right. Thought i should at least finish on a lighter note~ and Komui avoiding his paperwork seemed like the best idea for that one haha. **

**So that actually concludes the Iscariot Salvation. I hope you all enjoyed it and again thank you all for reading it**

**Just putting a small acknowledgement to my good friend who had to sit through me talking to him about some of these things and actually helping me a little with some of the names. And an acknowledgement to the writer of man for coming up with such amazing characters (though i didn't get to put the Noah in the story as much as i would have liked -sighs- perhaps next time). **


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